Summary Report Regional Economic Development Summit for the Treasure Coast Region October 28, 2016

Transcription

1 Summary Report Regional Economic Development Summit for the Treasure Coast Region October 28, 2016 Introduction This report summarizes the Regional Economic Development Summit hosted by Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) on October 28, The summit was held from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Wolf High Technology Center, Indian River State College Chastain Campus in Stuart, Florida. The Summit was organized by the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee of the Treasure Coast Economic Development District (EDD). The Treasure Coast EDD includes representatives from Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. The CEDS committee oversees development of a CEDS plan, which serves as a guide for regional and local collaboration on economic development initiatives and planning. The purpose of the summit was to engage stakeholders in the region as part of the process to update the CEDS plan. The goals of the summit were to: 1) bring together representatives from the region s business development organizations, industry leaders, educational institutions, local governments, and the public to provide a synchronized focus on economic issues; and 2) provide an opportunity for broad-based and diverse stakeholder participation to address the economic problems and potential of the entire region.

2 Summit attendees were invited by an announcement sent by TCRPC to individuals throughout the region. Announcements were also placed in the newsletters of the region s business development organizations. Over 100 people from eight counties attended the summit. The majority of attendees were from the four counties within the region, but attendees also came from Brevard, Broward, Okeechobee, and Leon County, which includes Tallahassee. Welcome and Economic Trends Presentation The summit opened with a Welcome from Michael Busha, Executive Director of TCRPC. This was followed by a keynote presentation on Economic Trends by Mark Wilson, President and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Wilson s presentation focused on national economic trends, state economic trends, and then discussed economic trends within the Treasure Coast Region. Mr. Wilsons s keynote presentation was followed by three engaging panel discussions, which focused on Industry Group Trends, Transportation and Infrastructure Trends, and Educational and Workforce Development Trends. The Welcome, Economic Trends presentation, and panel discussions were captured on video by Martin County Television. Click here for a link to the video of the Welcome and Economic Trends presentation on YouTube.com. 2

3 Industry Group Trends Panel Discussion Peter J. Tesch, President of the St. Lucie Economic Development Council, served as moderator of the Industries Group Trends Panel Discussion. The panel included: Chuck Collins, Executive Director of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, representing Marine Industries; Dennis Corrick, Attorney with Dean Mead, representing Agriculture; Dale Ketcham, Chief of Strategic Alliances with Space Florida, representing Aviation and Aerospace; and Charlotte Lombard Bireley, Tourism & Marketing Director of St. Lucie County, representing Tourism. Click here for a link to the video of the Industries Group Trends Panel Discussion on YouTube.com. 3

4 Transportation Infrastructure Trends Panel Discussion Kim DeLaney, Director of Strategic Development and Policy with TCRPC, served as moderator of the Transportation Infrastructure Trends Panel Discussion. The panel included: Peter Haliburton, Principal, Cambridge Systematics, Inc., representing Railroads; Bill Johnson, Principal, Strategic Aviation Partners, representing Airports; Carl Baker, Director of Planning and Development with the Port of Palm Beach, representing Seaports; and Leslie Wetherell, District Program Management Administrator with the Florida Department of Transportation District Four, representing Highways. Click here for a link to the video of the Transportation Infrastructure Trends Panel Discussion on YouTube.com. 4

5 Educational and Workforce Development Trends Panel Discussion Michael Corbit, Director, Business Development with CareerSource Palm Beach County, served as moderator of the Educational and Workforce Development Trends Panel Discussion. The panel included: Edwin R. Massey, President of Indian River State College; Ava L. Parker, President of Palm Beach State College; and John Kelly, President of Florida Atlantic University. Click here for a link to the video of the Educational and Workforce Development Trends Panel Discussion on YouTube.com. 5

6 Breakout Groups In early afternoon the summit participants were asked to divide into breakout groups in order to complete two exercises. The breakout groups were organized by topics aligned with the Six Pillars organizational framework established by the Florida Chamber Foundation to identify key factors that drive Florida s economy. The six pillars breakout group topics included: Talent Supply & Education; Innovation & Economic Development; Infrastructure & Growth Leadership; Business Climate & Competitiveness; Civic & Governance Systems; and Quality of Life & Quality of Places. Economic Resilience was also added as a breakout group topic, because this is a new topic area to be addressed in the 2017 update to the CEDS plan. Council staff served as facilitators for all the breakout groups except Innovation & Economic Development, which was facilitated by staff from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The facilitators guided the discussion in the breakout groups through the exercises. In the first exercise, each breakout group was asked to develop a list of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) related to the breakout group topic. After developing the lists, the participants were asked to select the single most important Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat related to the topic. In the second exercise, each breakout group was asked to develop a list of strategies related to the breakout group topic. After developing the list of strategies, the participants were asked to select the top three priority strategies. The summit participants reconvened as a single group after the breakout groups completed their exercises. A volunteer from each breakout group presented the exercise results to the entire group. The results from each breakout group are provided in the following sections. The most important SWOT items and priority strategies are shown in italics. 6

7 Talent Supply & Education Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Stephanie Heidt and was attended by 11 people from Leon, Martin, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties. Strengths A strong collaboration between educational institutions, businesses, counties, and CareerSource to develop talent pool Connected quality education Diverse business community Quality of life Low tuitions education more affordable Weaknesses Gap between talent and demand due to lack of educational capacity in high-demand jobs and advanced degree programs Perception educational system is weak Wages are low Poverty levels are high 7

8 Do not understand younger generations Opportunities Enhance alignment of career academies, K-12 schools, and businesses to identify and build career pathways and post-secondary schools Increasing populations Business involvement in training and development of talent pool Encourage businesses to grow their own (offer training and education to current employees) Threats Persons becoming obsolete Poverty Lack of funding Regulations Inability to connect with Millennials Aging Workforce Lack of talent supply Strategies Build unfettered career pathways to develop the talent supply for the future. Evaluate performance data to sustain, enhance, and grow our talent supply. Identify additional needs and seek opportunities throughout the state university system for graduate degrees at the local level. Encourage industries to work with all workforce development supply. Identify talent supply needs. Align all stakeholders to develop talent supply. 8

9 Innovation & Economic Development Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Greg Vaday with the U.S. Economic Development Administration and was attended by 13 people from Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties. Strengths Unrealized talent pool Innovation Aviation Industry Environmental/Tourism Ecotourism - sustainable advantage Innovation and productivity Talent all generations High investments capacity Early start-up ventures Weaknesses Lack of unified culture that provides the will, process, and policies to succeed 9

10 Talent mismatch Source and vetting globally Qualified candidate pool is shrinking Lack of entry level jobs Lack of intermodal connectivity Lack of urban amenities and recreation activities Lack of innovation support culture No 21 st century vocabulary Opportunities Re-examine the region s competitive advantages and define the future and action plan to get there Partnering with colleges, CareerSource, connect job seekers with good jobs Awareness and alignment of resources and talent matching Vocational-technical/trade opportunities are booming Determining what we want to be Latin-American company attraction regional offices Social lifestyle innovation Threats Political will and public perception Water supply Literacy Underutilized potential Political local-to-public perception of economic development Infrastructure Strategies Shift culture and perception of Florida as an innovator from a strengths-based approach which accounts for economic development and community engagement. Utilize locally driven and implemented workforce development strategies, goals, and funding. Adopt a different approach to visualize the future of region, such as using a Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results (SOAR) analysis. 10

11 Infrastructure & Growth Leadership Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Kim DeLaney and was attended by six people from Broward, Indian River, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. Strengths Robust and well-maintained transportation network Rail network including passive rail right-of-way as well as active port connections, to/from other counties Roadway network conditions good, reasonable capacity, north-south connections Airports commercial and general aviation, corporate capacity Waterways Intracoastal Waterway, ocean/inlets, lagoon, rivers, canals, including cross for connection, Okeechobee Waterway Seaports Port of Palm Beach, Port of Fort Pierce Medical/Trauma System Network Energy FPL reliability, municipal utilities Educational institutions K-12/University 11

12 Weaknesses Lack of east/west connectivity (complicated by rail network and need for grade-separated crossings Inter-regional connectivity county-to-county connections; e.g., bus, Tri-Rail East-west connections within and between counties Lack of multimodal facilities Rail/roadway/interface/# of grade crossings Rail impact on emergency services Lack of multiple routes to I-95/Turnpike when closures occur Opportunities Complete missing pieces of transportation network with improvements such as gradeseparated rail crossings and multi-modal components for bike/pedestrian/transit Rail on US 27/inland port by Indiantown utilize SR 710/may need airport Consolidation of energy provision Improve multimodal network/features Grade separated rail/road/pedestrian crossings with prioritization to include hospitals Monitor/integrate non-limited access facilities Ride sharing/private providers for last mile connection to transit and county-to-county High school career academies to supply marine industries workforce Tri-Rail extension/intercity bus connections Threats Hurricanes/natural disasters causing need for evacuation with limited east/west routes out of county and environmental impact on river and water quality from Lake Okeechobee discharges Energy range of rates/unpredictability Lack of increased gas tax/without indexing declining revenue stream Increased utilization of FEC rail corridor such that east/west crossings are impacted for emergency services, vehicular travel Strategies Reconsider roadway designs to prioritize complete streets and multi-modal components for new and rehabilitated roadways to enhance the transportation network. Increase county-to-county transit options for commuters and students. Increase telecommuting and transportation demand management (TDM) and transportation systems management (TSM) strategies to reduce the number of commuters. Develop a prioritization system to determine locations for grade-separated railroad crossings and east/west evacuation routes. Expand public/private relationships between and among transit and transportation agencies and ride-sharing providers (e.g., Uber, Lynx). Expand public awareness regarding transit options. Create incentives through impact and mobility fees and land development regulations for multi-modal improvements. 12

13 Develop local government thoroughfare plans to secure long-term right-of-way corridors. Develop a competitive rate model to standardize energy rates in the region. Advance the development of water preserve areas to address water quality and storage. Support the development of agency regulatory measures to prevent discharge of sediments from the bottoms of ditches. 13

14 Business Climate & Competitiveness Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Dana Little and was attended by eight people from Broward, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie counties. Strengths Geography/Location Physical growth potential Economic value (relatively attainable) Generally pro-growth local and regional governments Strong roadway and highway infrastructure (although lacking in transit) Untapped potential growth in lifestyle and eco-businesses Positive awareness of region to outsiders Emerging agriculture potentials Location and geography Marine and aqua-culture related interests Weaknesses Lack of diversity 14

15 Misconceptions about the region The school system Young talent recruitment and retention Lack of economic diversity Lack of vital infrastructure including sewer and water in some areas Lack of business risk takers Employment skills misaligned with available jobs Water quality The physical (suburban) environment is weakness for a robust business climate Opportunities Growth potential High vacancy rates in existing commercial buildings and centers Pleasure-to-permanent recruitment efforts aimed at retaining visitors as business investors Continued population growth The northern migration from Miami-Dade and Broward counties in addition to the southern migration from Central Florida (primarily due to housing costs) Threats Collective will to address problems All Aboard Florida proposed passenger rail service Failure of local governments and communities to express the will to address tough issues Strategies Address lack of business diversity by identifying the key obstacles to attracting and retaining businesses in the Region. Support programs to enhance trade and vocational training and certification, including at the high school levels. Streamline the regulatory process and provide a program to help the private sector navigate this process at the local, county, agency, and state levels. Increase intergovernmental communication and collaboration. Enhance education by providing greater emphasis on child reading proficiency levels. 15

16 Civic & Governance Systems Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Tom Lanahan and was attended by eight people from Martin, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties. Strengths Governments communicate and work together to encourage economic development Governments work cooperatively with chambers of commerce Regional planning has been done and is being done Weaknesses Consensus vision for economic development lacking Citizens need accurate information Untapped experienced retirees No entrée into Government No entrée into Private Sector Communication between counties Vision not being communicated to the community Newcomers to the area have no background on issues 16

17 Lack of education in civics Lack of civility in discourse Dissolution of clubs and declining participation Lack of advisory board participation Lack of broadly accepted goals Opportunities Citizen involvement, especially youth Untapped talent Young people Social media as a means of communication Local government connect with school children High school students on advisory boards Police explorers Veterans, especially recent ones College students as poll workers Volunteers Citizens academy for youth with placement for graduates Youth leadership program Existing plans (such as Seven50) Threats Lack of civics knowledge Misinformation Goal/regulation mismatch Conflicting goals among jurisdictions Slow processes Confusing/unclear regulations Incompatibilities between local and larger desires Aging population Crumbling infrastructure Trade education lacking Lack of good jobs Strategies Create dynamic citizen education programs for all ages to expand understanding of government processes and build engagement. Recognize that government, business and citizens have a role to play and a job to do in the process. Communicate with citizens in the manner in which they want to communicate using factual information in plain language. Assist businesses through the permit process with a staff advocate. Reduce burden in the permitting process. Eliminate barriers to economic development. Promote K-12 involvement in civics. 17

18 Provide a knowledgeable business advocate within regulatory agencies. Provide a single contact point for economic development. Rotate customer contacts so all staff gain experience in dealing with the business community. Enhance communication with citizens based on their preferences. Provide advisory board engagement to promote understanding of role, respect for their work, education, and involvement from the elected official who appointed them. 18

19 Quality of Life & Qualify of Places Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Michael Busha and was attended by 12 people from Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and Palm Beach counties. Strengths Location/diversity in all categories Weather Outdoor activities (boating, yachting, golf, fishing, hunting, equestrian) Lakes and waterways Ecosystem landscape Education and Cultural opportunities Urban and cultural diversity Small town/city feel Beach Agricultural open space Planning 19

20 Weaknesses Inconsistent execution of vision Sustainable industry and higher wages Lack of affordable housing stock (all kinds diversity) Lack of public transportation that is efficient and user friendly Pattern of development Inconsistent leadership Term limits or not Intergovernmental cooperation No unified Regional Vision Water management/water quality Lack of infrastructure maintenance Education Opportunities Collaboration inter- and intra- city/county public/private Growth Ethics by example Redevelopment/Reuse More Cultural Events Marketing what we have Regional/Community calendar Younger more diverse Population Attract People Back Education Threats Unbridled/unbalanced growth Sea Level Rise/Climate Change Water quality and quantity Poverty/Lack of Affordable Housing/Cost of Living Environmental degradation Infrastructure conditions and cost of maintenance All Aboard Florida or not Access to healthcare Equity in taxation Homestead Exemption! Strategies Create a common regional/local data base with quality-of-life metrics to help guide local and prioritize local and regional decision-making. This includes creating a common language of statistics and other facts that define the region s progress or decline in important issue areas. Assist cities and towns with visioning and redevelopment. 20

21 Implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), fix the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee, find additional water storage, and stop the harmful discharges to the region s coastal estuaries. Create a central electronic clearinghouse for events, things to do, activities, etc. with a central local network for getting the information out. Create more educational opportunities in the health and life sciences field and improve access to healthcare. The Seven50 plan, reboot and rename. Revisit our codes to make sure they are delivering what we want. Revisit our approval process for development we want. Identify and prioritize redevelopment opportunities in the Region. Identify and prioritize infrastructure investments for redevelopment. 21

22 Economic Resiliency Breakout Group This breakout group was facilitated by Kathryn Boer and was attended by four people from Martin and St. Lucie counties. Strengths Industry diversity - six sectors: marine, energy, aerospace, medical, agriculture, tourism Hub for energy producing design, research, regional collaboration, technology (wind, solar, electric, nuclear) Climate weather allows year-round work opportunity Highly educated workforce in key sectors (water, energy) Medical training, research and implementation (check weakness) Transportation infrastructure (rail, airports) Agriculture four seasons of growing Weaknesses Water quality injures tourism, local quality of life Power exported from region 22

23 Medical: cannot seem to meet the needed, expected volume workforce residence, nurses, graduates, doctors All access to medical services/affordability Small business protection Water quality injured tourism, local quality of life Opportunities Expansion and retention of existing contributory industry (aerospace, energy, agriculture, medical, marine) Built industry should encourage long-term planning to develop quality goods Agriculture four seasons of growing Threats Man-made/natural disasters (hurricanes, cyber-terrorism, terrorism, civil unrest) Repetitive losses property/residential/governmental facilities in flood zones Strategies Adapt best practices in disaster management for economic resiliency to address challenges in climate change, water quality, workforce, etc. Address water quality issues by staying the course to complete the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and check accountability of federal government to pay appropriate portions. Identify best practices for economic resilience in Florida and the nation and emulate the successes within the Region. 23

24 CEDS Committee Members 2016 Indian River County Helene Caseltine Brian Fowler Joe Griffin Mark Mathes St. Lucie County Adam Locke Harold Buzz Smyth Jeremy Theisen Al Rivett Peter Tesch (Alternate) Martin County Pauline Becker Luis Dominguez Edwin Maxwell Henry Copeland Bill West Kathie Smith (Alternate) Ike Crumpler (Alternate) Frank Tidikis (Alternate) Robin Snyder (Alternate) Kristen Sweeney (Alternate) Palm Beach County Artice Art Cobb Michael Corbit (Chair) Andrew Duffell Gary Hines 24

25 Council Staff Michael J. Busha, Executive Director Peter G. Merritt, Assistant Director Kathryn E. Boer, Emergency Programs Director Phyllis Castro, Accounting Manager Kim DeLaney, Director of Strategic Development and Policy Elizabeth Gulick, Special Projects Coordinator Stephanie Heidt, Intergovernmental/Brownfields Coordinator Kim Koho, Administrative Assistant Thomas Lanahan, Economic Development Coordinator Dana Little, Urban Design Director Barbara Stefancik, Accounting Assistant Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council 421 SW Camden Avenue Stuart, Florida