PANAMA CITY — While the Bay County Economic Development Alliance met its job creation goals in 2013, it did so by hitting singles and doubles.
This year, EDA director Neal Wade is hoping for a home run, a goal that has become increasingly difficult as organizations with bigger pockets compete for the same businesses.
“It is a competitive business; it’s all about the dollars,” Wade said Wednesday during the EDA’s monthly investors meeting. “Other cities and counties are really stepping up to the plate.”
Wade cited a maintenance repair overhaul project at the airport the EDA was vying for, which ultimately went to Pensacola.
“Pensacola was able to use some funds that they have that we don’t have,” Wade said. “They have between $8 and $10 million that they’ve raised privately to have available for economic development, and their county commission has committed $175,000 to wine and dine prospects.”
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport Director Parker McClellan said project leaders referenced the decision to go to Pensacola as one that was “all about the numbers.”
“It got down to what kind of package we put together with incentives and the cost for them,” said McClellan, who added ECP was invited to bid late in the game. “We had good numbers, but they weren’t good enough for them to jump off the train that they were already on.”
When funds from the RESTORE Act begin flowing to Florida counties affected by the 2010 BP oil spill, Wade said it will present an opportunity for the EDA to carve a direction for future projects by ensuring a portion of the funds goes toward developing the necessary infrastructure to lure companies.
“We have to focus on the infrastructure and the things we’re going to need at the airport,” Wade said. “I believe if we had hangars now, we’d already have an MRO (maintenance repair overhaul company) at the airport.”
At the meeting, Wade presented investors with a 2014 plan for the EDA that focuses on growing industry in medical technology, tourism development, advanced manufacturing, logistics and aerospace.
Former EDA Chairman Allan Bense looked back to 2011, when the EDA still had the stench of a botched deal with Redpine Health Care Technologies hanging over its head.
The Bay County Commission provided $350,000 for the medical software company up front, along with $400,000 from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, before any of the 410 predicted jobs were created. The company quickly dissolved.
In the wake of Redpine, Bense said his time as chairman in 2013 was focused on expanding reach and meeting jobs numbers, but he has loftier goals for the EDA in 2014.
“It’s time now we need to go to the next level,” Bense said. “It’s time we get some good, strong employers here.”