INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Over the next few months, Indian River County will be honing its strategy for luring businesses to the county and encouraging businesses to expand locally.
Consultant Janet Ady of the firm Ady Advantage of Madison, Wisc., presented an initial report on an $80,000 study intended to tell the County how to target businesses for economic development. She said the county already has great resources as far as education and training.
Ady said Indian River County needs to work on its “brand” and that it needs to enhance economic development resources that are available on the internet, including making it easy to find potential plant facilities and land for businesses to relocate or expand.
“Somehow we need to get them to get their properties ready, to be shovel ready,” O’Bryan said. “One thing we need to do is to make sure that we have these parcels available, shovel-ready so we can market those.”
O’Bryan gave the example of a large, vacated citrus processing and packing plant that has a desirable size, but little “curb appeal” for a business that wants to have a presence in Indian River County.
“I think that readiness and alignment are the mitigation to risk,” Ady said, echoing what O’Bryan said that there is more that can be done with regard to having shovel-ready properties available. “We do need good properties that are in good state.”
“We don’t have control over vacant buildings, or at least I hope we don’t. I don’t want to see us get into that. Where I think we really can focus is utilities and utility capacity,” Chairman Wesley Davis said.
He said that when a business commits to locate in or expand to Indian River County, the county needs to be able to mobilize to bring water and sewer utilities to that property in short order. Davis said Indian River County is fortunate to have the resources and capacity to expand in this way. “Our utility department is cutting edge.”
Commissioner Tim Zorc mentioned that the county should keep in mind the City of Vero Beach’s efforts to create a master plan for the Vero Beach Municipal Airport, a plan which includes goals for developing the non-aviation side of the large property to attract firms and clean, light industry to this area.
Zorc also commented on the website element, he said the web element needs to be “friendly and easy to use.”
“I think we’re on the right track, this is a first step,” Zorc said about the report. “We need to look at what do we have and what are we good at.”
Zorc said county officials should be proactive, to visit and listen to the concerns of local business owners engaged in expansion so any concerns can be addressed before they become obstacles to progress.
O’Bryan praised the staff and said he thinks the county needs to promote that it has a staff that can facilitate permitting of even complex projects like the INEOS Bio plant.
“We can get it done and get you up and running,” he said.
Commissioner Joe Flescher said he looks forward to seeing the next stages of the project come to fruition, and with that he made a motion to move forward with phases two, three and four of the consultant’s scope of services, plus the follow-up phases to be instituted by county staff. The commission voted 5-0 to accept Ady’s report and to move ahead with the next tasks.
