- April 19, 2024
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Some big questions were left unanswered Saturday, March 5, when the Economic Summit ended: What specific policies should be put in place to help develop Flagler County’s economy? How should those policies be funded?
Those questions — including measurement criteria, such as jobs and taxes — could be answered on the summit’s third day, March 18.
In the meantime, there were five things that the elected officials from all municipalities in the county did agree on at the landmark Economic Summit — the only summit of its kind going on in the state of Florida, according to Facilitator Don Upton, of Fairfleld Index.
1. Provide exceptional customer service.
Each municipality agreed to review its policies, including permitting, that businesses are subjected to as they deal with the government.
Garry Lubi, executive vice chair of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates, said the chamber would facilitate a focus group to devise a plan.
County Administrator Craig Coffey said part of the problem has been perception, and that the problem may not be as big as people think.
“We have never lost a prospect from the standpoint of our permitting process or a our economic development process,” he said, adding that when businesses pass on moving to Flagler County, it’s usually because of other issues, such as incentives or available space.
City Manager Jim Landond agreed.
“I think one of our problems is communication,” he said. “We can be doing A, B and C, but if people don’t know, and they still think we’re doing X, Y, Z, and they keep telling the X, Y, Z story, the perception is still the negative X, Y, Z. What I would ask in return is that we start telling the A, B, C story.”
He added: “The stories are more important than the facts when it comes to how the outside world sees us.”
2. Attract targeted industries.
The state has its own criteria for offering incentives to certain industries. Enterprise Flagler Director Greg Rawls agreed to gather data on what industries would be a good fit for Flagler County.
3. Encourage entrepreneurs.
Job creation is likely to occur in smaller businesses that are showing success and want to grow. The county needs to help those businesses develop, officials said.
One example: The city of Palm Coast is working on a plan for a business assistance center.
Other partners include SCORE and incubator programs at Daytona State College.
4. Maximize regional opportunities.
Flagler County is not exactly part of the Jacksonville market, or the Orlando market or the Daytona Beach market. Or it could be part of all three. Officials agreed they need to explore regional opportunities, including making their presence felt at regional regulatory bodies, such as the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
County Commissioner Milissa Holland and Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts are going to prepare a report, with the help of Facilitator Don Upton, for the March 18 meeting.
5. Attract and develop talent.
One of the first things site selectors for business prospects want to know is whether Flagler County has a workforce that matches their needs. Officials agreed that the community needs to find ways to prepare its students and other residents to be trainable and attractive to the targeted industries.
In addition, the schools need to show what they can offer already to families of employees of the business prospects. School Board member Colleen Conklin said the school website should have a link or a button that could make the data site selectors seek easier to find.
Conklin said: “We could put a link to say, ‘Thinking of relocating to Flagler County?’ And up pops the graduation rate and all about our district being an A-rated school.”
For analysis of the weekend’s discussions, see the March 10 print version of the Palm Coast Observer.
