1 P a g e The Economic Development Advisory Board of the City of Fort Myers, Florida, met in regular session at Oscar M. Corbin, Jr. City Hall, 2200 Second Street, its regular meeting place in the City of Fort Myers, Florida, on Thursday,, at 2:00 p.m. Present were: Orie Lee Ford, Chair, presiding, Regular Board Members, Roy H. Kennix, John L. Kakatsch, Kenneth Pariser and Michael Erickson. Alternate Board Members, Nannette Maxson and Jerome Miller. Also present were: John Talmage, City Chief of Staff, Grant Alley, City Attorney and Gwen Carlisle, City Clerk, Absent: Regular Board Members, Margery Metzler and Dennis Landfried. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Ford called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. and a roll call was taken by Recording Secretary Lily Baker. REGULAR ITEMS 1. Minutes of the January 4, 2018, March 1, 2018 and September 6, 2018 meetings MOTION: Board Member Kakatsch moved to approve the Minutes of the January 4, 2018, March 1, 2018 and September 6, 2018 meetings as presented; seconded by Board Member Maxson; motion carried unanimously. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO FLAG Chair Ford led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. PUBLIC COMMENT - Chair Ford asked if there were any public comment at the meeting today; there being none he asked for the updates and reports. Mr. Talmage introduced a new employee of the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), Cheryl Thornton. Ms. Thornton stated she is the new CRA Manager and her primary focus and responsibility will be the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard corridor. PRESENTATIONS 2. Role and Responsibilities of the Economic Development Advisory Board Grant Alley, City Attorney Regular Board Member Roy Kennix arrived to the meeting at 2:10 p.m. City Attorney Alley gave a brief presentation on the rules and regulations of the Economic Development Advisory Board, the Sunshine Law and the
2 P a g e Public Records Law. There are two types of Boards in the City of Fort Myers: Administrative Boards and Advisory Boards. The Economic Development Advisory Board is established pursuant to City Charter, Section 83. It acts in an advisory capacity to the City Council in matters related to economic development and business activities in the development of and periodic updates to the City's Economic Development Strategic Plan. Members will serve for staggered three (3) year terms and will consist of members with experience or interest in different fields of expertise that are listed in the code. John Talmage, Chief of Staff, is the representative of the City Manager and will act as the Economic Development liaison to provide assistance and attend each meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Board to provide expertise and suggestions to the Board Members. All Economic Development Advisory Board members serve in a volunteer capacity without compensation. A quorum of the Board shall consist of a majority of the appointed members. City Attorney Alley suggested that the Board find a niche to fill that will be beneficial to the City and the City Council. Board Member Kennix stated that the powers and duties outlined in the code for the Economic Development Advisory Board are very broad. Board Member Kennix suggested that Mr. Talmage bring the actions and initiatives that are taking place by various sectors of local governments before the Board, as there might be situations where the Board may be afforded an opportunity to participate. Board Member Kennix inquired if Board Members have the opportunity to initiate items. City Attorney Alley stated the best route is through the Board liaison, Mr. Talmage, who will be able to structure it and bring it before the Board. Board Member Miller inquired if it were feasible to draft an outline that narrows down and crystallizes the economic items that the Board should be looking at. Mr. Talmage reminded the Board that the incentivizing agency in the City of Fort Myers is the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency and the Economic Development Advisory Board does not have the ability to issue grants or rebates. The CRA is a separate entity that is not under the administration of the City Manager. The Economic Development Advisory Board does not have a right to weigh in on the business of the CRA. Mr. Talmage suggested a better route would be to create an Economic Development element in the Comprehensive Plan. Discussion ensued regarding elements that can be added and the options of having developer presentations at the advisory board level. City Attorney Alley continued his presentation and stated that Florida has a Sunshine Law that has civil and criminal penalties. Any Board Member that is going to communicate in any matter must meet three (3) requirements: must be publicly noticed, minutes must be taken and the public must be afforded the opportunity to participate. The Sunshine Law applies to advisory boards, however, it does not apply to legislators or the courts. Mr. Talmage cannot meet with more than one Board Member at a
3 P a g e time to discuss business, he also cannot discuss any other Board Members view on an item. City Attorney Alley presented examples of cases where Board Members violated the Sunshine Law and illustrated how technical the Sunshine Law can be. City Attorney Alley stated that another important element to be mindful of is, meeting other Board Members in a casual setting that does not meet the three requirements of Sunshine, even if the discussion is non-city Business, it has the ability to create a negative public perception. He provided the Board with additional resources that are available online for searchable opinions and guidance. Discussion ensued on the appropriate actions to take if a Board Member must recuse themselves or abstain from an item. REPORTS REMI tool update Mr. Talmage presented the new in-house City tool that is nationally recognized, the Regional Economic Analysis Program featuring REMI Policy Insight. The City has the ability to do an economic impact statement of a facility, clusters, industries, or a business. It gives some forbearance on what an outcome of an investment might be. Chair Ford stated he is interested in not only looking at the number jobs created but rather the wages for the jobs. Board Member Miller stated this is a fantastic tool and suggested it be placed on the website for businesses looking to establish a location in the City of Fort Myers. Corridors Analysis update The City has hired Florida International University (FIU) consultants, who will perform the corridors analysis. This was in the City s Strategic Plan as both a goal and a priority. Their analysis will be very in-depth of the major corridors in the City. Mr. Talmage stated each Board Member will be involved with the corridor that their corresponding Ward overlaps with. In addition, the City will be able to view a neighborhood and know where every resident works that lives in that neighborhood. This will help the City understand how far residents are traveling for jobs and where the disconnect in job training and neighborhood opportunities exist. Of the 56,000 jobs that are housed in the City of Fort Myers, only 11 percent, live in the City of Fort Myers. Mr. Talmage stated that there is a current welding crisis and the vision is to address the vacant 5,000 positions in Southwest Florida. The goal is to have a pre-welding program in the Enterprise Center or a facility in partnership with Career Source. After 6 months of employment with the welding company, they have an opportunity to go through a first-time home buyers program in partnership with Home Ownership Resource Center (HORC) and in partnership with a community bank that will underwrite the mortgage. This will afford them the opportunity to buy a home that is half a mile to a mile from their
4 P a g e workplace. This effort encompasses community development by having the economic development piece and the community development piece come together. Chair Ford left the meeting at 3:12 p.m., Vice Chair Kakatsch presided over the remainder of the meeting. Mr. Talmage stated that the second part of the corridor analysis contract includes a partnership with SecondMuse, an organization that was founded by a nationally regarded neurosurgeon who has developed a biological view of economic development. They are embedded in the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Nike, NASA; working in locations, such as, Bali and Indonesia. SecondMuse is establishing a third office in Fort Myers. Board Member Kennix stated that the project sounds fascinating and suggested the Board have early interactions with the FIU and SecondMuse teams to aid with the guidance and completion of the corridor analysis. 3. Discussion on Economic Impact on Water Quality Issues Vice Chair Kakatsch stated that he has been personally impacted economically by the water quality issue and would like to see the Board provide a recommendation regarding this matter. Vice Chair Kakatsch also asked for an update regarding the discussion at previous meetings to have professional experts give presentations and provide input to the Economic Development Advisory Board. Mr. Talmage discussed the latest development that has transpired regarding the City of Fort Myer s position on the water quality issue. At the October 1, 2018 City Council meeting, Mayor Kevin Ruane, City of Sanibel President, Florida League of Mayors, West Coast Representative to the Florida Ecosystem Restoration Taskforce, provided an update on the water quality of Southwest Florida and requested that the City join three municipalities: Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Cape Coral (for a total of 7 cities) to contribute $5000 apiece. The City would be an Intervener pursuant to Florida Statutes and the State of Florida Division of Administrative Hearing with the City of Sanibel, Town of Fort Myers Beach and City of Cape Coral petitioners versus South Florida Water Management District Case Number 18-5114RP. The City Council unanimously approved to join efforts with the other municipalities. During that meeting, the Captains for Clean Water offered to provide a multi-city scientific oriented workshop for as many Council Members from different municipalities that can participate. The Chamber began releasing their Economic Development impact for Red Tide today; in August there was a $15 million hit to Sanibel. The goal is to have Florida Gulf Coast University, a Clean Water Expert and an Economic Development expert attend and discuss this at a future Economic Development Advisory Board meeting.
5 P a g e Board Member Miller noted that there is scientific data that have proven if you raise the flows and allowing more water to be in the lake at certain times, it would alleviate a lot of this problem. City Attorney Alley discussed the motion that the City of Fort Myers is about to file and stated that the Final Administrative Hearing before an Administrative Law Judge is scheduled for October 29, 2018 and October 30, 2018. Vice Chair Kakatsch stated that Fort Myers Beach restaurants are at 25 percent capacity. Mr. Talmage and Vice Chair Kakatsch discussed the Red Tide and Hurricane Irma Impact offices that are offering assistance to individuals affected. 4. Set date for tour of the Collaboratory Mr. Talmage stated that the date of the tour has not been finalized as they are also trying to provide a City employee tour and a Grand Opening for the public. The date will be distributed through the City Clerk s Office. 5. Board Member Comments and Reports Board Member Maxson distributed information on an upcoming conference in December. Mr. Talmage stated that Board Member Maxson is in the process of putting together a business plan to request funding to attend these conferences, as discussed in previous Economic Development Advisory Board meetings. Board Member Miller stated that he wanted to revisit and provide an update on items that have been previously deliberated. He has met with Richard Calkins, ITS Director, to discuss the Economic Development website. The template has been created and is a few months from going live. Discussion ensued on crystallizing the Economic Development roles and options on items to narrow in on, as long as it falls within the confines of economic development. MOTION: Board Member Miller moved to add a discussion item to the January 3, 2019 Economic Development Advisory Board agenda; discussion on the role of the Economic Development Advisory Board; seconded by Board Member Kennix; motion carried unanimously. 6. Chair s Report No report. 7. Announcement of Next Meeting November 1, 2018 Vice Chair Kakatsch stated that the next scheduled Economic Development Advisory Board meeting is set for November 1, 2018. Adjournment
6 P a g e There being no further business, it was moved by Board Member Pariser; seconded by Board Member Miller to adjourn the meeting at 3:57 p.m.; motion carried unanimously