FELLSMERE — From attracting a foreign investor-owned shrimp farm and the National Elephant Center to bringing in a natural gas line and a Dollar General store, Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker has been at the forefront of developing economic opportunities in his city.
It’s that level of innovation that garnered him the Carolyn K. Eggert Economic Development Award from the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce.
“He really does think outside the box,” said the Chamber’s Economic Development Director Helene Caseltine of Nunemaker, adding that his various projects have served to put Fellsmere on the map, and in turn, Indian River County.
The Chamber created the award in 1999 to memorialize Eggert, an Indian River County Commissioner from 1986 to 1998 and a staunch supporter of economic development who strove to create and maintain quality jobs in the county.
Recent recipients include Commissioner Peter O’Bryan in 2009, Linda Schlitt Gonzalez of Coldwell Banker Paradise Ed Schlitt Realtors in 2010, and Jeffrey L. Susi of Indian River Medical Center in 2011.
The honor came as a surprise for Nunemaker, who had been invited to the Chamber’s annual dinner under the guise that Fellsmere Vice Mayor Joel Tyson was receiving an award.
Turned in his seat with his arm draped over the back of the chair, Nunemaker looked relaxed as the dinner progressed. But when Chamber President Bill Penney announced Nunemaker as the recipient of the economic development award, Nunemaker drew his arm back in, turned in his seat and slowly stood up as his face became tinged with red.
“I didn’t have a heart attack,” Nunemaker said after the dinner, noting he was happy the surprise didn’t have an ill effect on him. “It’s good to see Fellsmere get the recognition.”
Nunemaker doesn’t see the award as a personal accolade – instead, it’s something to be shared with his City Council and staff.
“It’s a collaboration,” he said, explaining that the key to the city’s success has been a combination of communication with his council and having a council with a steady vision for the city’s future.
“They make it very easy,” Nunemaker said.// “We’re all very, very proud of him,” Fellsmere Mayor Susan Adams said.
She added that the award helps to reinforce that the city is on the right track.
“It’s been a tough couple years with the economy,” Adams said.
She noted that much of what Nunemaker’s been working on is lining up the pieces for when the economy turns around.
Caseltine said Nunemaker has brought the city a far way in a short amount of time.
“He’s very open to new ideas,” she said, later adding, “He thinks beyond the regular everyday project.”
For his part, Nunemaker said it’s just a matter of finding a void and filling it. When the city didn’t have a bank, he worked to bring in Oculina. When there wasn’t a place for a youth club, he worked to bring in the Boys and Girls Club to the Old Fellsmere School.
“All we had to do was partner and find a way to say ‘yes’,” he said.
Under his leadership, the city has received a grant to fund a needed stormwater master plan to determine how best to handle flooding and run-off; the city has a memorandum of understanding with St. Johns River Water Management District to install a boat ramp in the northwest corner of Fellsmere at the Fellsmere Water Management Area; the city has been awarded a grant to fund the extension of a natural gas line through town to the city’s to-be-developed commerce park; and the city has established a ropes challenge course, among many other projects.
“I’m very appreciative of the award,” Nunemaker said, “and cautiously optimistic about the economy.”
