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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989 10 12 Commerce & Industry Development Board .// . . . JJ/re~!I~~ CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDAS[P::! 519 'S ~ 1126 EAST STATE ROAD 434 Of W"NTE/f WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA 32708 01'( J.lih. SPilll""" Telephone (407) 327-1800 -~...., September 22, 1989 WINTER SPRINGS COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT BOARD City Commission City of Winter Springs 1126 East State Road 434 Winter Springs, FL 32708 Gentlemen: In light of the recent resignations of Mr. Tom Binford, Mr. Jon Hall, and Mr. Jim Cooper, the remaining members of this Board felt a letter to the City Commission was of utmost importance. As you will recall, at the first meeting of this Board, we called for a joint meeting of the Commission, the Planning and Zoning Board, the Board of Adjustment, and staff. The purpose was two-fold: 1. To submit to the Commission our Mission Statement, developed with minimal direction from the Ordinance, for comments, changes, and approval. 2. To reaffirm the Commission's committment to the objectives in the Mission Statement, as well the committment and cooperation of the other boards and staff. Also at this meeting, this Board stated that our initial efforts would be devoted to providing input on the updating of the City's Comprehen- sive Land Plan as requested by the Planning and Zoning Board. Only when this has been accomplished will we be able to identify specific areas for locating a business or industry. Furthermore, if we are going to usellu Winter Springs to a prospective new industry, we need a demographic package with which to support our presentation. since one does not currently exist. This project will take the better part of a year gathering information on population, transportation, education, etc., designing a brochure cover, and composing the narrative for the information sheets on each demographic. The sheets are to be inserts so that periodic updating can be accomplished easily. Each member is responsible for assembling the information on 2 or 3 categories, and have, in fact, already begun doing so. . . . /' ' - /' . City Commission City of Winter Springs -2- September 22t 1989 Upon completion of the above two projectst the Board will be prepared to aggressively begin seeking business and industry to locate in Winter Springs. FinallYt it was unanimously agreed that another important part of this Board's responsibility was to support existing business and industry in the CitYt especially in regards to expansion. At the end of this joint meetingt this Board felt it had achieved the the support of the City Commissiont the various boardst and stafft albeit tentative in one or two instances. From that point ont we quite diligently began the tasks at hand. As to the Comprehensive Land Plan, after attending two meetings at which the Plan was never addressed, we requested that the minutes of each P & Z Meeting be furnished to this Board. We would then comment on any recommendations referring to the Plan. To date, no such recommendations have been made. While there is little to report regarding the Land Plan and the brochure, we have nevertheless been busy promoting our Board. The Greater Seminole County Chamber of Commerce Industrial Development Committee has given its unqualified support to this Board, and stands ready to assist in any way. In fact, when the State asked the Chamber to recommend a city or group involved in economic development projects in order to provide a matching grant up to $2,500 to defray costs, our Board was the first to be suggested. Unfortunately, it was a little premature for us, but we will be considered again next year. The Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida in Orlando, ~hith serves four counties with a wealth of resource information and pro- motes these counties to prospective new and expanding existing industries, was most excited to hear about this Board. Our regular August meeting was held at the EDC office downtown, and proved to be most informative as to who is looking at Central Florida, what we can do in terms of incentives (not necessarily monetary), and how the EDC can help us. I, personally, have been asked to serve on another Seminole County Economic Development Rountable which could be of great benefit to this Board. . . . /' / . ./ City Commission City. of Winter Springs -3- September 22, 1989 At all times I, as Chairman, have felt nothing less than total support and committment to our purpose from all the Board Members. Each meeting produced even more enthusiasm than the one before. You can imagine the disappointment of receiving three resignations within a two-week period! While Mr. Hall cite meeting. perceived Cooper has relocated out of the area, Mr. Binford and Mr. reasons that reflect the problems we addressed at the joint These gentlemen feel that the committment and support we at that meeting was, indeed, not to materialize. At this point in time, there are three unfilled vacancies on this Board, but a willingness on the part of the remaining members to continue our mission. However, we will do so only after we have received assurance from the Commission that this is, in fact, the sincere desire of the Commission. Furthermore, we need to feel that when assisting a prospective new industry through the process of location and development, or an existing industry through expansion, the high standards of the City can be maintained and administered while maintaining a spirit of help, cooperation, and public service. Sincerely yours, ~~ Ruth E. Smith Chairman cc: Mayor Grove City Manager Rozansky Dr. Alan Fickett