09-07-2016Wednesday, September 7, 2016
1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL
8:00 AM
104 N. Riverside Drive
Edgewater, FL 32132
Council Chambers
Present 7 - Bliss Jamison, Marcia Barnett, Oscar Zeller, Donna Snow, Brandon Beck, Clarence
McCloud and Craig Bair
Absent t - Cecil Selman
Also Present 2 - Samantha Bishop and Jordan Church
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None at this time.
3. PRESENTATIONS
None at this time.
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mr. Bob Andrejkovics, 331 Admiralty Ct.: pleased to hear the Northwest Lineman College starting
first semester November 28, 2016; paperwork was signed for the Old Coronado Paint Company
Factory to move forward, and is pleased with the job the Economic Development Board is doing.
5. REPORTS
a. Planning and Zoning Board
None at this time.
b. SEVCC
Sue Williams reported: the Chamber is having a Hob Knob September 21st, open to the public and to
Election Candidates, will be at the Brannon Center, each candidate will get to speak and will have a
Sponsor Table set up; the Chamber has a new website which is mobile and is a vast improvement;
Business Bootcamp will be in February 2017 at the City of Edgewater Council Chamber, $75 for
non-members, $55 for Chamber of' Commerce members, 5 week course that meets every Wednesday
in the evening; Northwest Lineman's College, within 12 hours of the instructor landing in town, came
into the Chamber of Commerce and wanted to say thank you to the City of Edgewater for being a
part of that; Chamber is hosting the ribbon cutting at Rotary Park on September 22nd; Re join the
Chamber event next month and Joe Corey is now doing training for the City of Edgewater key
executives, which occurred because of the Chamber bringing him here.
c. City Manager/ Economic Development/ Redevelopment Coordinator
Samantha Bishop, Economic Development Coordinator: gave a presentation to City Council last
City of Edgewater Page 1 Printed on 111312017
Economic Development Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2016
night about events going on such as Northwest Lineman's College, Dougherty Manufacturing,
changes with Tropical Blossom Honey, which was bought by Nature Nate's, the honey production
has moved to Valdosta, Georgia but wanted to maintain a retail location here and chose the historic
building which was the original fruit stand for Tropical Blossom Honey and have been doing
renovations to it; been doing a roving presentation on the state of the city with the City Manager and
the Assistant City Manager to different Homeowner's Associations, letting people know about the
different projects going on, including Capital Improvement Projects, parks, street widening, budget
overview and making ourselves available to the city at large; Brownfield's is winding up, there's a
little money left for a Phase 1, the year ends September 30.
Chair Jamison asked Ms. Bishop to discuss the Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative, with the goal
for today being to go through it and discuss it and also take in to consideration New Smyrna Beach's
responses, so that from today, we can have a collaborative response moving forward.
Ms. Bishop read the Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative Mission Statement and Vision Statement;
Chair Jamison asked for any comments, Member Bair asked if they align with New Smyrna Beach,
Ms. Bishop explained that this came from a collaboration with New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill's
Economic Development Advisory Boards, and explained how this idea came about.
Ms. Bishop described the strengths, City of New Smyrna Beach added: location; discussion followed
concerning New Smyrna Beach and the wording of the SWOT Analysis; available land for
residential; discussion of Education assets including Edgewater Public Elementary School STEM
program; Member Beck suggested "Tourism" added because it is such an asset to this area.
Ms. Bishop stated the weaknesses, discussion followed, including changing the wording for Housing
from low-income to affordable; lack of consistent connectivity throughout Southeast Volusia for
water & sewer; taking the phrase "availability of shovel ready land" out; opportunities were also
discussed, Member Beck brought up the Hispanic population and the opportunity to embrace that;
discussion involving Threats, taking them off since they are all part of the weaknesses. Member Beck
asked about redeveloping land a few months ago, certain property not being able to be redeveloped,
discussion followed about the Wetland Ordinance.
Ms. Bishop then described the Next Steps handout, and creating and writing a Strategic Plan with
Communication Flow Chart and Timeline; Chair Jamison pointed out that our goal is not to
duplicate or compete with Team Volusia or Volusia County Economic Development Department, but
to work together and support them in their efforts.
7. NEW BUSINESS
None at this time.
8. BOARD REPORTS
Member Beck stated that VMA is having their manufacturing showcase on September 30th, at the
Ocean Center from 2: 00 p. m. until 7: 00 p. m.
Member Barnett reported that she drove cross country to Oregon and our roads are horrible; she
City of Edgewater Page 2 Printed on 111312017
Economic Development Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2016
also mentioned that she got a stand up desk, which is made by Brunswick, a sister brand of Boston
Whaler.
Member Snow talked about her committee with Sue Williams and Samantha Bishop to select an
Edgewater business and a New Smyrna business and if possible, an Oak Hill business and recognize
each business at the November Chamber Installation Banquet, which is November 17th.
Member McCloud reported there has been a grant established for displaced homemakers, there will
be a food pantry, a contracted organization will run it and a book lending library, in addition to
support for individuals and assist with child care expenses. The displaced homemakers grant will
serve individuals seeking employment, short term training, seeking their GED and vocational/college
credit courses. The targeted population will be individuals 35 years and older and plan to hire a
vocational specialist. Member Mccloud would like to see the recipient come from Edgewater, so if
anyone has any suggestions, let him know. The project should be up and running by November I st.
9. ADJOURN
There being no further business to discuss, Chair Jamison adjourned the meeting at 9: 30 a.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Tonya Vanek, Record's Clerk -
City of Edgewater Page 3 Printed on 111312017