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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01072009Workshop~~~ SEB~~7AN ~u~ -~ HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2009 - 6:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Mayor Gillmor called the Workshop to order at 6 pm. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. ROLL CALL City Council Present: Mayor Richard Gillmor Vice-Mayor Jim Hill Council Member Andrea Coy Council Member Dale Simchick Council Member Eugene Wolff Staff Present: City Manager, AI Minner Interim City Attorney, Robert Ginsburg City Clerk, Sally Maio Police Chief, Jim Davis Airport Director, Joseph Griffin Growth Management Director, Rebecca Grohall MIS Senior Systems Analyst, Barbara Brooke-Reese 4. PROPOSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR CITY OF SEBASTIAN (Draft Pla Brief Presentation by Economic Development Task Force Beth Mitchell, Executive Director of the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce, introduced Helen Caseltine, Director of Economic Development for Indian River County Chamber of Commerce who gave a brief presentation on Economic Development. She stated she had taken some material from Bill Fruth, who had previously presented to Council (see power point presentation attached). Ms. Mitchell continued the presentation. She recommended formation of a confidential Economic Development Committee in accordance with and as allowed by Florida Statutes, cited the Patterson-Bach plan from 2003, and suggested inclusion of an Economic Development element in the City's Comprehensive Plan. Economic Development Workshop January 7, 2009 Page One Mayor Gillmor said he sees this as abrain-storming session and first opened the floor for public input. Public Input Willard Seibert, 1013 Indian River Drive, Sebastian, congratulated the Task Force, expressed concern regarding formation of confidential committees, stating while he recognizes the need for confidentiality during some negotiations, it must be stripped aside and information opened up. He said site plans for 15,000 square feet should not be left to staff, and said he did not see how you can fast track site plan review on a very large facility. Steve Philipson, Vero Beach resident, and Sebastian airport lessee, said he has had difficulty working with the City in the past, but in December had a meeting with staff and he sensed a better attitude from staff in working with small business people. He said he would like to see a committee where a person could air concerns regarding problems encountered. He suggested charting how long things take to go through the process to identify the roadblocks. Damien Gilliams, 1623 US 1, thanked the committee for the presentation, said he tries to keep things simple, fights City Hall, has a dock with 50 sites and gets calls for them every day, and can't get answers from City Hall. He said the docks would bring big boats into the City. He said he tries to participate in the City and can't get an electrical permit. He said schools and colleges bring people to an area and the plan sounds good but it is long term and asked what we are going to do for tomorrow, suggesed a place to bring local people out of their homes so they can meet and trade. He said people are losing their homes and prices are dropping. Beth Mitchell said their effort has been long term, but noted in the packet behind the slide presentation on "10 reasons to shop local" and asked Council to direct staff to place this on the City sites; and suggested that the City's bidding process be changed to include recognition of local businesses. Ms. Simchick said she visited Mt. Dora recently and noted their Chamber is open Saturday and Sunday and we need our Chamber open on the weekends. Ms. Mitchell responded the Chamber is as challenged as local businesses are, they are considering lay-offs and would not be able to keep the Chamber open on the weekends. She said even the City has a voice mail system and no person as a real receptionist and she cannot count the number of times people contact the Chamber after becoming frustrated when they cannot reach City Hall. Ms. Simchick suggested closing one day during the week and opening one weekend day. Ms. Mitchell said their focus is not just on tourism and that Monday is one of their busiest days. She said in the future she would like to do a ten or fifteen minute overview of what services the Chamber provides and how they are acting on behalf of the entire business community. 2 Economic Development Workshop January 7, 2009 Page Three Indian River County Commissioner Peter O'Bryan, and Commission liaison to Indian River County Economic Development Council, said the first thing we need to do is tell people to quit buying junk and to buy products that are made locally and promote a buy local program and suggested such avenues as a local flea market and tax incentive program. He said the confidentiality issue is a double edged sword, and explained the process. He urged everyone to talk in positive terms rather than negative about things happening in our area, citing SRHS band, great programs, Sebastian Inlet, wildlife refuge. He suggested a "bring your kid to Sebastian" contest for retired people, and advised Commissioner Solari has requested an Economic Summit for February 5. Don Wright, North Fischer Circle, Sebastian, said if we don't plan now everything gets postponed again, it is an urgent situation and affects all aspects, it is important to get a plan in place, and we need to get decisions made on how to move forward. Damien Gilliams said the Chamber needs to be open on the weekend, suggested moving the Chamber over to this complex to be near Growth Management and the college, and use the valuable property on the river for businesses. He said in St. Augustine there are parking lots throughout the area. He agreed with the green market the Commissioner mentioned. He said he collects cards from the vendors at the city festivals and most of the people at these events are from out of town. Mayor Gillmor called recess at 7:17 p.m. and reconvened the workshop at 7:35 p.m. All members were present. Council Discussion Mayor Gillmor thanked Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Caseltine for their presentation, said the Economic Development Plan addressed issues down the road and it is important to get it started, but it will not put jobs in Sebastian this year. He read from the Community Redevelopment Plan policy regarding enhancing the City's gateways of US 1 and 512, and an article about local tree farmer's losing their shirts, and suggested we buy some trees. He then read from a Kimley-Horn report regarding 512 and US 1 and the triangle, briefly discussing the flag Ms. Coy had requested. Ms. Coy said it had been approved for funding from the Clambake Foundation. He further read material regarding marketing the downtown area, said we are really good at being a bedroom community, people are retiring here, and suggested we market ourselves better to bring people here. Vice Mayor Hill said 512 is a county road and they would need to be involved in the process, and did understand the Mayor's thoughts on being a bedroom community but said there are many people in Sebastian who are not retired. He agreed with beautifying the City as set out in the CRA but urged bringing in industry and putting people to work and approval of an Economic Development element in the City's comprehensive plan, and recommended getting the Economic Development plan on an agenda, hammering it out and getting staff on it. Ms. Coy agreed with Mr. Hill, and said it was time for moving on with the plan and committing as a group, said she has some ideas to discuss with Council regarding City parks after she speaks to the City Manager and staff. She suggested inclusion of language in the plan that reinforces use of local workers, and suggested putting the plan on the next business agenda. Economic Development Workshop January 7, 2009 Page Four Ms. Simchick thanked the Chamber and Task Force and said she was glad to hear we are all stimulated by the plan, said it is important to know who we are, opposed hiring a grant writer for that sole purpose and the grant writer should be our planner, noting she had championed outsourcing grant writing, said she would like to see staff come forward with its own Economic Development plan, that these are suggestions. She said she would like to see a consensus of Council tonight to direct staff to research some of these issues. She said she was firmly against developing a confidential committee, and asked the interim City Attorney his opinion on the matter in his prior experience and as our advisor. The interim City Attorney said there are two elements to the Sunshine law, public records and open meetings and the courts keep them separate and they do not overlap and statutes are very clear. He said it is true that certain information can be kept confidential but this is not the same as you can establish a committee that operates outside the sunshine. He said executive sessions are limited in State law and advised he would not be calling executive sessions. He said in closing that while private groups can conduct confidential meetings, we do not have a lot of ability to operate municipal government outside of the sunshine and while the Chamber and others can, he did not think the City could have a confidential committee. Ms. Simchick said after hearing this she strongly objects to confidential meetings, noting the former attorney mentioned this Task Force should not be a City committee, noting that the newspaper had incorrectly called it a City Task Force. She also objected to staff approval for 15,000 sf buildings, was in favor of public input, and tasked staff to take what has been talked about tonight and come back with Chamber Task Force ideas, our ideas, and public ideas. Mr. Hill asked for further clarification as to how these confidentiality meetings are conducted in other municipalities. He requested the 15,000 sf staff approval be left in the plan until there is clarification on that issue and then if Council doesn't want it in, it can be removed at that time. Ms. Coy said these meetings are conducted legally in other places and said she would like to know what other municipalities within the State are doing. The City Attorney said we can protect confidential records but committees are governed by the Sunshine Law. Mr. Wolff thanked the Task Force and read each member's name, commended the Mayor on his idea to conduct this meeting in round table, reviewed each section, said he had grave reservations on the confidential meetings issue because it could become the proverbial good old boys network, but said it can probably be bridged between the Chamber and the City Manager, expressed concern that management positions were coming in from outside the area, said the Airport has some limitations for business development, said he was concerned that if the City was identifying commercial and industrial land and a property was missed there may be some liability for the City, agreed that buying locally was a great idea as was providing stickers for local products, urged control in spending dollars on beautification while people are out of work, cautioned against outside vendors coming in and competing with locals at farmers markets, and suggested a final workshop with input from staff. He said the website can 4 Economic Development Workshop January 7, 2009 Page Five be updated hopefully not at a great cost to allow for more economic development information in PDF format. Ms. Simchick noted Palm Bay has an interactive website for businesses to use and asked that it be researched. Mr. Wolff said he was also not in favor of staff approval of 15,000 sf structures and did not think a two week fast track program for development issues can work but understood changes need to be made. Ms. Simchick suggested creativity in advertising and perhaps a community slogan contest. Mr. Gillmor suggested a billboard on I-95 which could direct them to the City's website. Mr. Wolff said the cost would be approximately $12,000 per year. The City Manager reviewed some of the City's on-going projects, 512 grant, IR Drive/Main Street Project, Collier Creek Canal, pedestrian bridge. He then recapped direction to staff to put together an Economic Development Plan by taking all points provided tonight and using the Chamber's plan as the framework, put it into a comprehensive format with targets and bullets to be completed by the end of February at that which time a workshop would be scheduled. He continued that the Council will then review and work on bullet points at the workshop and this would be the final framework for the Sebastian Economic Development Plan which Council would put its stamp on and be placed on the website. He further said the confidential committee is a tool that needs to be used but that it need not be mentioned in the plan, and agreed with Council on staff approval of 15,000 sf buildings. He noted recent updates to Council on methods to move Growth Management forward. Mr. Hill suggested including a goal of thirty days for development issues and Ms. Simchick supported that. Mr. Gillmor asked the Council's feelings about round table workshops and Ms. Simchick said Council cannot make decisions at workshops and would like to hear from the Police Chief and where he prefers Council to be. The Chief said Council's best security is behind the dais if someone were to rush their position, because the barrier provides protection. He said if they mix and mingle it makes the department's job harder. Ms. Simchick said she would like to take the Chief's advice and said she feels more comfortable behind the dais. Mr. Wolff asked what difference there is when they are seated on the floor for ISBA or MPO. Mr. Gilliams was recognized and said don't forget Mom and Pop businesses. 5. Being no further business, Mayor Gillmor adjourned the workshop at 9:00 p.m. 5 Economic Development Workshop January 7, 2009 Page Six Approved at the January 28, 2009 Regular City Council Meeting. .~ C Rich Im r, ayor _ ATT S ~- Sally A. Maio, MC -City Clerk Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Recommendations City of Sebastian City Council Workshop January 7, 2009 How to Improve a Local Economy Create more primary, or contributory, industry jobs that pay a wage much higher than the area's average wage To improve the local economy, we need to improve the quality of the economy It's all about: Attitude Time COSt Economic Development Overview "If you don't know where you want to go, it doesn't matter what road you take." What is Economic Development? Economic development is a process which encourages and facilitates: • Creation of high-wage full-time jobs with benefits, and • Diversification and expansion of the local tax base Why "target" industries? . Identify the product you have to sell - your community . Determine who wants to buy your product -which businesses would locate to the area . Market to those businesses 1 Wage Comparisons To achieve the economic development goal, a community must recruit new contributory businesses to the area that pay wages equal to or higher than that set in the goal. 2007 Average Annual Wage "U. S. Department of Labor fi/2007 Demographics Total Population of Indian River County (2010)* 150,000 Population under the age of 65 (61%) 91,500 Total Population of City of Sebastian (2010) 24,720 Population under the age of 65 (61%) 15,079 *Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of Florida New Occupational Licenses City of Sebastian, 2008 . Total Issued 219 Cleaning 17 Handyman 14 . Landscape 15 Personal Care 16 . Food Service 16 Pool Service 7 Retail 26 . Other (Business . Services, etc) 108 Home Business 118 Directing our Efforts Nationally, there are just a handful of projects (maybe 10) that will hire 1,000+ workers • Direct efforts on employers hiring 100 or fewer workers • Smaller companies are more flexible in the site selection process • A typical company for Indian River County would employ fewer than 50 workers Unemployment Rates 20 ]! 3 empaymen[ Pale In InElan Nrcr Caumy, iL~RIM10UM1) Sauru: .. Porbnant N LaCar. lureau . Ev Sbtlatlo I ( ~ii f U~I ~~ ~ ~,~ ~ ~ 1, J ~ ~~ yin as w ma rv~P iooe F.e~•, ~n~xrv m~k a s ~ 12/01/07 = 6.1% 8/01/08 = 10.1% 06/01/08 = 8.0% 10/O1/OS = 9.6% Targeted Business . The Indian River County Economic Development Council has identified targeted segments of the business community to be desirable to attract higher paying jobs to the county. . The Sebastian Economic Development Task Force recommends that the City adopt the same list of targeted businesses. In addition, the Task Force recommends that the following specific industries be listed and adopted: 2 Primary Targeted Industries • Clean light industrial - warehousing, distribution • Aviation/ aerospace technology • Medical Industry • Marine -boat manufacturer, fishing equipment • Eco Tourism related businesses • Green Initiatives Industries to Avoid • Heavy Industrial/Manufacturing • Chemical • Fertilizer • Cement Proposed Incentives . Consider incentives that expand upon the state and county programs, and can be used to finalize an economic development plan . Elements to include: • employment numbers and wages • additions to the tax base • rent payments • economic benefit to the community . Establish a system of tracking, monitoring, and accounting Secondary Industries • Reta i I • Aquaculture • Automotive • Surfing equipment • Family Entertainment Minimum Criteria ^ A qualified targeted industry as defined by the State of Florida, Indian River County and/or the City of Sebastian ^ Create and provide new jobs for a minimum of five (5) employees that pay an average annual wage that is at least 100% of the average annual wage as reported by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. Average Annual Wage = $35,043 in 2007 Incentives for Consideration 1. Rent credits 2. Tax credits, including impact fees 3. Loans to provide infrastructure for water and sewage improvement 4. Employment incentives, including job training 5. Cash grants 3 Economic Development Committee The Sebastian confidential Task Force is needed since most business projects can be negatively impacted by public knowledge in the following areas: 1. Land purchases or leases can increase 2. Competition 3. Negative impact on the business at the existing location 4. Negative impact on the companies due to concerns by employees There are potential negative financial consequences, employee morale, and sales concerns that are legitimate and need to be recognized and respected. Finally, during the planning process, the business may not want to deal with all of the potential distractions until plans are somewhat complete and decisions are ready to be made. ED Committee Goal To provide a positive environment for new targeted industries that may be considering locating in Sebastian. Additionally, the committee would assist with the relocation or expansion of existing businesses meeting the target industry definition. 5. Misinformation about a company can create public opposition to a project and it is better to let the public know after many details have been worked out 6. Customers may be concerned with disruption of service 7. Financial institutions concerns about the move 8. The community that the business is leaving may be concerned about the move Members of the ED Committee A confidential committee would include: City Manager, AI Minner, as Facilitator . A Council Member Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Economic Development Task Force .County Economic Development Director Sebastian Airport Director ^ Sebastian Growth Management The Fast Track Process 1. Determine that the company meets the target industry requirements, and has the financial strength and experience to meet their commitments 2. Provide the company with [he applicable regulatory requirements that need to be met and contact information for applicable regulatory agencies 3. Identify economic incentive programs available to the company 4. Meet with the City Council in executive session, invoking the confidentiality clause common with economic development efforts, to review the project and decide that standards have been met to proceed, direct staff to `fast track it' 5. Establish preliminary project timelines 4 6. Recommend a design professional familiar with the City codes. (A list of professionals needs to be established) 7. City staff will expedite the review process and schedule review of such projects on a priority basis to meet expected time frames. 8. A technical review by all departments involved in the project will be scheduled without delay. A encies not within the jurisdiction of the City would be asked to honor [he "fast track" process. 9. The site plan will be approved at staff level for permitted uses for buildings and occupancies up to 15,000 sq. ft. 10. Committee members and city staff will provide assistance to the applicant in obtaining permits and approvals, and will proactively work with the company to mitigate impediments and resolve issues quickly. Business Retention Economic Development also includes retention of existing businesses and opportunities that exist for expansion of those businesses. Retention of [he existing businesses could be less expensive then recruitment of new business and may be a simpler method of expanding the job base in our community. In order to provide support for the existing businesses in our community, the City should foster an environment that allows business to operate without encumbrance or interference. A review of the Land Development Codes may be helpful in determining the issues currently being encountered by the existing businesses. Sebastian Airport The City Airport is the largest area within Sebastian for the development of industrial business. The Airport is under utilized at the present time. One reason for slow airport development is lack of infrastructure. • Wastewater Connectivity: The only available sewer connection is along Roseland Road at [he southwest corner of the airport. Development in this corridor requires major investment in sewer extensions. Further development eastward, from Roseland Road, increase sewer extension costs. • Road Access: western development is currently limited to only property immediately adjacent to Roseland Road. Much land is available, but not accessible. On the eastern side of the airport (Airport Administration Building) improved Main Street access is required to open property or major industrial development. • IT Connection: IT services such as high speed Internet and cable television is limited on the west and east side of the airport -outside of [he Airport Administration Building. Identify infrastructure improvements required for new business development In order for existing and future commercial and industrial development to obtain building permits, the infrastructure of public water, sewer, roads and other public facilities must be adequate and meet concurrency requirements of the City of Sebastian Comprehensive Plan. It is recommended that an evaluation be conducted on the feasibility of the extension of water and sewer to accommodate future commercial and industrial development. It is also recommended that a new staff position of a grant coordinator be created, to address these needs and the needs at the airport. Potential New Business . The E.D. Committee can address retention and expansion opportunities New businesses seeking information from the City are potential candidates A designated city employee to direct potential new businesses towards resources that are available to the business: • Chamber of Commerce • Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) • Indian River State College Sebastian Airport, continued Grants from the FDOT and FAA are available and have been used to stimulate activity at the Airport. These grants can address infrastructure needs at the Sebastian Airport. Many of these grants are limited and based on job creation. It is recommended that a new staffi position of a grant coordinator be created to generate enough money to pay for the position. 5 Sebastian Airport, continued Other development issues at the Airport concern properly addressing the conflict between conserving environmentally sensitive land with the only remaining industrially zoned property. • [dentifable wetland areas at the airport need to be mitigated or incorporated into a development plan. • Scrub jay habitat - Identifcation and further discussion between City, FWS, FDOT, and FAA concerning the Florida Scrub Jay. It is recommended that an overall development plan be created to resolve the following issues and provide for commercial and industrial development. Economic Development Marketing 3. Budget request for economic development marketing materials 4. Patterson Bach report should be reviewed regarding sugggestions for specific marketing techniques, advertising campaigns, etc. To insure that there is continuity in the economic development process, it is recommended that the City adopt an Economic Development Element of the City's Comprehensive Plan. Economic Development Marketing The Task Force suggests the following actions: 1. Review and upgrade the Economic Development pages on the City's website 2. Design and print marketing materials specific to Economic Development in the City of Sebastian, with assistance from the Chamber: a. A general package that includes economic development information about the entire City of Sebastian area b. An insert for that package which provides specific information about economic development opportunities at the Airport Identify available land for commercial and industrial development . A successful Economic Development Plan must insure enough property is available zoned for business, both Industrial and Commercial . Recommendation: Give City Staff direction to review the county Future Land Use Plan to insure that we can meet the goals of the Economic Development Plan. 6