City plans business center

Palm Coast Observer
News

In cooperation with Daytona State College, the center would be housed at the city offices.

Acting on its economic development plan, Prosperity 2021, the city of Palm Coast plans to launch a business assistance center to support the growth and expansion of existing businesses.

“We’ve seen so much emphasis on bringing new businesses in, but we have many businesses that have already decided to be here,” said Ned Harper, of Daytona State College, which will partner with the city to hire a counselor to help connect businesses with available resources. “They like it here. The difficulty is helping them add one more job, five more jobs.”

In his presentation to the City Council Tuesday, Feb. 22, Senior Planner Beau Falgout pointed out that if 10% of the 3,000 businesses in Palm Coast added one job each, 300 more people would go back to work.

The assistance center will be housed in the city offices and will use existing equipment, including phones and computers that are available after last year’s layoffs. SCORE counselors would be accessible for free consulting, as well.

The City Council will need to vote to give grant dollars to Daytona State College to hire a business counselor for a salary of less than $50,000. That money would be renewed yearly if certain measurements are met, including job creation and assistance with securing business loans from local banks.

City Manager Jim Landon also noted that the business counselor could help identify solutions to problems businesses encounter with the city.

“Sometimes we don’t even know they’re frustrated until we hear it through the grapevine,” Landon said. “This way, we get it resolved directly. That way we can build a more business-friendly reputation.”

The city wants to open the center as soon as April 1.

Heroes Park to add security
After the Purple Heart memorial was tipped over last November, the city decided to address security at Heroes Park. At the City Council meeting, city staff recommended a motion-detection system and security cameras.

Ajram counters on Bulldog Drive
Gus Ajram, owner of the last piece of property on the Bulldog Drive entrance to Town Center, has offered to sell his parcel to the city for $1.1 million, plus $100,000 in legal fees.

Landon said the appraisal on the property was $466,000. The city’s attorneys are recommending eminent domain, which could result in a cost of $308,000 for 30 feet of right of way.