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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCEDS 052017 Minutes Draft Subject to Modifications Minutes of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee Meeting Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) May 11, 2017 Chairman Harold Smyth called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Committee Members: Helene Caseltine, via conference call Indian River County Brian Fowler, via conference call Indian River County Joe Griffin Indian River County Mark Mathes Indian River County Ike Crumpler Martin County Frank Tidikis, alternate Martin County Bill West Martin County Michael Corbit, via conference call Palm Beach County Carol Thompson Palm Beach County R. Douglas Bynoe St. Lucie County Harold “Buzz” Smyth St. Lucie County Excused: Edwin Maxwell Martin County Gary Hines Palm Beach County Al Rivett St. Lucie County Absent: Pauline Becker Martin County Art Cobb Palm Beach County Andrew Duffel Palm Beach County Jeremy Theisen St. Lucie County Council Staff: Tom Lanahan, Deputy Executive Director TCRPC Kim Koho, Administrative Assistant TCRPC Guests: Luis Dominguez, via conference call Palm City, Florida A quorum was present. Draft Subject to Modifications 2 APPROVAL OF MARCH 9, 2017 MEETING MINUTES Carol Thompson moved approval of the March 9, 2017, meeting minutes. Joe Griffin seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. REVIEW OF MEETNG CALL IN PROCEDURES Tom Lanahan reviewed the conference call procedures. He stated that if a member is participating via conference call to please remember to mute their phone if they need to take another call or participate in a discussion other than the conference call as it becomes difficult for others on the call to participate in the discussion. DISCUSSION OF SKILLS GAP WEBINAR OF APRIL 13, 2017, BY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK Mr. Lanahan stated that one of the functions of the CEDS Committee was to share information. He recently participated in a webinar hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank discussing “skills gap”. This topic of the webinar focused on employers who were asked what they actually needed from employees. Four positions (computer user support specialist, nurse, retail sales supervisor, and executive secretary) were looked at, whose degree requirement depended on what state the individual lived in. For example, in Arkansas only 8 percent of the nursing jobs require a 4 year degree; whereas in Virginia 63 percent of the nursing jobs require a degree. They discussed whether the degree was actually needed or if it was standing in for something else. In some positions there is a legitimate need for a degree, especially if it provides necessary hard skills or is a proxy for certain soft skills that employers are looking for. He stated that an entry position might not require a degree but it might provide the ability for the employee to advance. A high school diploma used to be enough for some jobs, but with changing job skills, employers are finding the need for college degrees. Mr. Lanahan said that the webinar discussed different ways to allow more people to participate in applying for jobs currently requiring degrees. One company, Techhire.org, is having discussions with employers to find out the skills they are looking for so they can vet information technology candidates who do not have degrees, but might be very employable. They establish what skills the employers need and administer skills testing. The prescreened skill tested applicants are then delivered into the interview process. Employers have found that the hiring process is faster because they have more hirable candidates. Retention is also better since there is a better fit between the candidate and the company. Mr. Lanahan said that the webinar raises an interesting question when looking at the “skills gap” equation. There is a problem with potential employees not having the required skills the employer needs, but there are also potential employers who are not looking for the correct skills that they need. He would continue to share information with the Committee as he receives it. Chairman Harold Smyth asked if the general degree programs in today’s colleges match the job skills required. Basic skills are not being taught since shop classes and home economics are no longer offered. Motion Draft Subject to Modifications 3 Mr. Griffin said that the amount of student debt can be upwards of $250,000, which doesn’t always equate into marketable skills. Sometimes a college education does not mean success since the entry level salary doesn’t service the debt. Mark Mathes stated that many people work in an entirely different field than the degree they receive. The City of Fellsmere is currently hiring labor positions and the applicants are diverse in qualifications and in age. Ms. Thompson discussed the challenges about filling positions in her department. She needs specific communication, analytical, writing, and statistical skills. The degree the applicant has does not always translate into the skills she needs. Applicants who have backgrounds in economics, planning, math, or statistics, seems to bring those specific skill sets with them. Frank Tidikis said that everyone should have the right to attend college, but not everyone has the ability or desire to attend. Our education system is not designed to track students and move them into the correct career course and there is a parent responsibility that doesn’t always get exercised. Bill West said the education system provides no apprenticeship opportunities. Students are discouraged against trades and encouraged to attend college. Not every student is college material and eventually they rebel against attending. Mr. Tidikis said that the high school dropout rate reflects that lack of encouragement into the trades for those who do not want to or cannot attend college. Mr. Griffin said that in the City of Sebastian, as City Manager, he has enforced the Veterans preference for job hiring and those Veterans hired have shined. They are disciplined, accept challenges, and show up on time. He encouraged others to do the same. Mr. Mathes said that it is proof that they developed a high level of integrity through military training. Douglas Bynoe concurred with the hiring of Veterans and with the disciplines learned in the military since they are held accountable. He felt the education system is outdated and should be vetted earlier to a 10 year curriculum instead of a twelve year one. Dual enrollment is offered in high school, but that early opportunity should be extended to the technical and trade schools. The older they get, the harder it is to instill the skills needed to obtain and keep a job. Mr. Lanahan said that since one of the issues identified in the SWOT analysis was education this type of discussion was beneficial for the plan update. Chairman Smyth asked if the CEDS minutes are sent to the region’s local officials and school board members. Ms. Koho said the minutes are included in the agenda for approval by the CEDS Committee and posted on the TCRPC website. Mr. Lanahan said that the final version of the CEDS Plan update will be publicized and made available to a broad audience. Mr. Lanahan noted that he has been participating in the City of Stuart’s Competitive Florida Partnership Grant with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). DEO assists a community in developing an Economic Development Plan. He commented that he had worked with a principal from one of the elementary schools in City of Stuart during the asset mapping Draft Subject to Modifications 4 phase. A large issue that this school is having is there is a wide disparity between the different children’s readiness to learn. There are children who are coming into kindergarten level who know how to read and ones that do not know their letters and colors. Ms. Thompson said that her experience with the public school system was that children are tested and matched with others who have their skill set level. Chairman Smyth asked if all the counties were experiencing the same problems in schools. Mr. West said that the “no child left behind” rule created a standards testing issue. Chairman Smyth asked if Michael Corbit could summarize how the education system is addressing employment issues and if the word is getting out to the elected officials. Mr. Corbit said in Palm Beach County the word is getting out to the elected officials and that Palm Beach State College is creating accelerated trade programs. The penny sales tax approved last November by the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners will generate about $3 billion dollars in construction activity, spurring the need for these programs. CareerSource currently has recruiting expos for these trade programs since it is important to get younger people into trade programs and apprenticeships so they can be hired full time. Chairman Smyth asked if Mr. Corbit thought the information was getting out to other counties and he said that he thought it was since CareerSource, state colleges, universities, and unions cover all of the counties in the region. Mr. Tidikis added that Indian River State College in Martin, St. Luci e, and Indian River counties has introduced manufacturing training programs in conjunction with Paradigm Precision who has donated the building and equipment. Florida Power and Light is also building new solar fields and is sponsoring a program to train solar technicians. Ike Crumpler said the conversation was very constructive but stated that missing from the discussion is something that would make it appealing so that people would wake up and pay attention. There are not a lot of young people prepared to enter the workforce and currently there is a movement to teach young adults in their twenties and thirties basic life skills. Government and schools are usually in a reactive position when addressing problems, but he applauded their efforts. Many of the issues such as children not knowing their letters and colors begin at home and unfortunately are becoming the norm. It is important to get the public’s attention. This could be done with a survey through a cross section of employers asking them to identify workforce problems. If the common problems were highlighted such as anticipating shortages in the workforce due to lack of skills and reduction in pay, it might make newspaper headlines. It would then get the public’s attention because it would impact them and their children. Mr. Crumpler said that many parents want their children to focus on school and not have a part time job and because of this, they do not gain basic job skills. Government can sound the alarm but not as effectively as a cross section of private businesses and employers. Mr. Lanahan said that it is important to note that the children can be over educated and still not prepared for the future. Chairman Smyth asked if the CEDS Plan Update could include focusing on the development of basic job skills. Mr. Lanahan said that it could be placed in the Plan’s goals. Chairman Smyth confirmed with Mr. Lanahan that the CEDS Plan will be seen by the elected officials since they are the decision makers. Draft Subject to Modifications 5 COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY UPDATE Review of Draft Vision Mr. Lanahan said the CEDS Committee is currently working on the CEDS Strategy update that began with the Economic Summit held at Indian River State College, C hastain Center, in October, 2016. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats were reviewed at the past meetings and the Committee is currently working on the Plan’s visions and goals. Mr. Lanahan read the draft vision, which stated that “the Treasure Coast Region will have a strong and globally competitive economy, with increased opportunity for all residents through improved education, high-quality job growth, a sustainable high quality natural environment, better regional collaboration, and enhanced community livability.” As the goals and strategies are formulated the Committee will be able to define the needed improvements. Chairman Smyth stated that the vision should stress the importance of improved education as the collective study of book and hands on learning, and life skills. Ms. Thompson suggested phrasing improved education as preparation of life and job skills. Chairman Smyth suggested that improved education should reflect the combination of academic knowledge along with prepared life skills. Mr. Mathes said that the vision should not include definitions for every term. He said that the definitions should be listed as a goal or several goals. He felt the vision statement was complete. Mr. Bynoe suggested including flexibility in the education system in the goals creation. Mr. Tidikis suggested it include apprenticeships; stating the system should be aligned with the ever changing market place. Mr. West agreed that apprenticeships would encourage students who are not focused on college to continue with their education. Chairman Smyth suggested removing the adjectives from the vision statements but including definitions of the vision in the goals and objectives. Mr. Mathes asked Mr. Lanahan to create a vision statement with the value laden words removed to review at the next meeting. Ms. Thompson asked if Mr. Lanahan could include goals that would align with the vision statement (representing how the process goes from the macro to the micro). The goals could then have aligned objectives which would break down the process even more, since objectives can be measured. Mr. Mathes agreed and asked what method of goals would be used. In his industry, goals are achieved; objectives are measurable; and policies and strategies are the steps that lead you to the vision. Mr. Lanahan said that the goals will be lofty and the objectives will provide the Plan with steps of things to do, which will move it closer to the goals. Keep in mind that some of the goals and objectives will take time to develop. Ms. Thompson asked if Mr. Lanahan could develop one goal and one aligned objective each of the vision statement’s listed opportunities. Chairman Smyth asked if Ms. Thompson could email Mr. Lanahan an example and Ms. Thompson said she would work with Mr. Lanahan. Joe Griffin asked if there was anything in the educational system that would fill the gap fo r early education, which is critical. Mr. Lanahan said that the voluntary pre-K is supposed to address that need. It is day care with education, but it is voluntary. Mr. Mathes said that in Fellsmere, which has a population of 5,000, he is aware of at least three opportunities for pre-K. Draft Subject to Modifications 6 Discussion of “Big Ideas” Mr. Lanahan stated at the last meeting, Michael Busha, Executive Director, asked the Committee to bring back their big ideas. Mr. Lanahan also asked the Treasure Coast Council of Local Governments and the Palm Beach County League of Cities for their big ideas and is still waiting for responses. Mr. Griffin suggested including more military opportunities like the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs into the educational system. Mr. Bynoe said that the military training does not necessarily set you up for service in the military but gives you the tools to be a better person and citizen. Mr. Lanahan said that there are high schools that have different types of special programs to help foster different trade skills. Mr. West said that many of the extra programs have minimum grade point average requirements for entry. Mr. Mathes suggested a big idea for education might be to provide a market based flexible education system, which is an education system that responds to the market place and allows for flexibility in students curriculum. Currently the education system does not offer many choices outside the special programs offered, whereas a market based education system would. Mr. West said it would provide students with more individualized programs. Mr. Mathes suggested creating one or two big ideas for each of the topics in the vision statement. Mr. Lanahan asked the members to email him with any inspirations they might have. Chairman Smyth stated his company is working on building a marina in the City of Fort Pierce and his company’s vision is to create a first class destination resort in hopes it will create economic opportunities for education and local job growth. He would then like to see Indian River State College focus on the hospitality industry. Mr. Mathes said that creating a partnership between the hospitality industry and the State college is a good way to achieve a flexible education system. Chairman Smyth said that the region should lead the area in cutting edge aviation, aeronautical, travel, farming (four growing seasons), and yachting. Mr. Tidikis asked where the incubators for Treasure Coast region were located. Chairman Smyth said that he did not agree with the biotech industries coming to Florida because the State is geared more toward tourism. Mr. Griffin agreed that Florida is geared to tourism but did not agree with the statement that the biotech industries are not a good fit for the Treasure Coast. Florida now has 21 million people. There are several industries such as the simulation and biotech industries that are growing in the more populated areas of Florida such as Orlando. The Treasure Coast Region will benefit from that growth because of its proximity to the industries and we may be able to provide workers and find success. We need to look at regional and statewide success, that is what this committee should focus on. Chairman Smyth said that maybe the big idea can come from a collective coordination of smaller ideas from the different communities within the region. He suggested focusing on what smaller Draft Subject to Modifications 7 communities do best. Mr. Tidikis said that it should be studied as to why certain industries in the region are not prospering when they should. Mr. Bynoe said we need to focus on whom and where we want to be as a region. Many companies come to a region because of the civic leaders. Luis Dominguez said he is very involved in the buying and selling of companies and spends a lot of time in Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas. The West Coast of the United States is very forward thinking. You have to be able to envision what you want to be in order to be successful. Then you need to determine what can be done to develop successful businesses. Part of that successfulness is the development of business incubators. He asked for an explanation of the CEDS Committee’s mandate. Mr. Mathes said that the CEDS Committee is not an implementing Committee. It helps to form a vision of collaboration and opportunities in an advisory capacity. Mr. Lanahan said that there is an implementation piece through the Economic Development Administration; however, it is not all done through the CEDS Committee. Mr. Dominguez asked if the Committee could form an implementing committee to create a cohesive partnership between business and government to attract and implement businesses. He related an experience he had in Malaysia working with a seven person panel and the government to assist in making Malaysia competitive on the world stage, since they were strictly an agricultural economy. The partnership developed a plan to bring in additional industries. Seven flagship industries were developed based on attraction and implementation. Once the industries were established, the government along with business partners worked on supporting the plan. They did this by having the government dedicate a piece of land for the new industry. The government then offered tax breaks and incentives and a labor force with skilled workers were developed. The country has moved from agriculture to other industries. He asked if the Committee had the ability to create its own Silicon Valley on the East Coast of Florida. Chairman Smyth said the purpose of the CEDS Plan update is to develop a plan that reflects the vision for the future. It is extremely important to make sure that the elected officials see and understand the Plan. Mr. Mathes said that his understanding of the Committee’s role is that it is not involved in developing a more detailed implementation plan. The CEDS Committee is tasked with developing the larger plan. Chairman Smyth said that the CEDS Committee is one of the few committees that incorporate collaboration from four different counties. Mr. Mathes said that when the Committee gets to the implementation portion of the Plan there should be a lot of discussion as to what the CEDS Committee can do to encourage involvement of those entities who can take it to the next level. Mr. Dominguez said the West Coast focuses on developing companies involved in communication. Sanford University developed a curriculum around that industry because they take a bolder approach to economic development. He asked if the Treasure Coast Region could do the same. Chairman Smyth said the Committee’s goal is to be bold in its plan for the update. Mr. Mathes said that the CEDS Plan Update is the first step in economic development . The second more detailed plan is not a CEDS Committee responsibility, but the Committee should try to find a Draft Subject to Modifications 8 way to reach out to the colleges, universities, local governments, and the business communities who need to work on the Plan’s implementation. Mr. Bynoe discussed the benefits of bringing an automobile manufacturing plant to the region as a goal initiative and the importance of inviting government participation. Mr. Dominguez said that he had discussions with local universities regarding a future cancer center and only one moved forward with the discussions. The University of Miami has a joint vision with Baptist Health South Florida, which have created a new cancer center with career opportunities. There have also been residual businesses and opportunities because of this endeavor. He said it is important to first create the idea and then underpin it to determine how it should grow and how risks are mitigated, since no one wants to be the first one to take a risk. It is important in the process to understand to whom the idea needs to be presented. Ms. Thompson said many good points were made, but the Committee members cannot implement the Plan or organize its implementation. It needs to be taken to the decision ma kers in the region who will in turn approach the other players such as colleges, universities, hospitals, and companies. It is the CEDS Committee’s role to be the idea makers. Mr. Lanahan said that the CEDS Committee role might be to coordinate a list of the many different entities involved. Mr. Mathes said that he would like to see Florida Power and Light solar energy industry and the natural gas industry built upon and to have those industries linked to other goals. He stated there is a need for alternative energy sources. Mr. Lanahan said that Florida East Coast Railway is one of the leaders in freight and uses natural gas fuel. Mr. Mathes said it would be a great opportunity to partner with other industries to bring natural gas to the masses. Mr. Bynoe said natural gas could attract manufacturing, which would promote the use of the region’s ports by exporting goods. Mr. Mathes said an international trade program could then be created. Mr. Tidikis agreed that the solar industry would be a good fit for Florida and the Treasure Coast Region. Review of Metrics Mr. Lanahan said there are 10 Regional Planning Councils (RPCs) in the State of Florida. Each of the ten RPCs has a grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) for economic development related projects. The grant is paying for the CEDS Plan Update and the next four years of implementation. The framework of the previous CEDS Plan updates for all of the RPCs were set up to align with the Florida Chamber of Commerce Six Pillars. The RPCs have a consensus for the metric to be used for the Plan update, which can include additional metrics such as third grade reading and venture capital investments tying into the Florida Chambers Six Pillars. The metrics provided by the RPCs are: Average Wages Per Job, High School Graduation Rates, Eighth Grade Math Performance, Gross Domestic Product, Tourism Development Tax Collections, Trade Imports and Exports, Population Counts: Estimates and Projections, Annual Building Permits, Daily Vehicle Miles Travelled, Average Annual Draft Subject to Modifications 9 Unemployment Rates, Employment by Industry, Employment by Sector or Occupation, Average Annual Wages by Industry, Registered 501(c)3 Organizations: Public and Private Foundation Charities, Real Personal Per Capita Income, Relative Housing Price, Percent of Persons Living in Poverty, Shift-Share, Location Quotients, and Innovation Index. Mr. Lanahan said that the daily vehicle miles travelled (VMT) is to measure the number of miles driven as an indicator of how many people are going to work; its purpose is not to have more people in cars. Mr. Mathes said that if a community is successful at redevelopment its VMT goes down but the community is still a success. Mr. Lanahan said that when reviewing the numbers there should always be consciousness of a reason why the number changes. Ms. Thompson suggested modifying the VMT to daily vehicle miles travelled to work and back. Mr. Mathes said it appeared that some of the metrics are measuring the same thing and asked if the unemployment rate was measuring the same thing as VMT. Ms. Thompson said that the metrics measurement would depend on what you would want to achieve. If you want to measure traffic congestion then the daily VMT would be a correct metrics. Mr. Lanahan stated that the metrics are trying to measure economic development. Mr. Mathes said there are several metrics measuring economic development. He asked if there was a metric to show the success of the school system in providing opportunities in vocational related jobs versus college related jobs. Mr. Lanahan said that it could be added to the list especially since that metric would directly be tied to the Treasure Coast’s CEDS Committee’s goals and added that all of the consensus metrics will be measured. Ms. Thompson asked if the metrics could be modified based on a CEDS Plan template. Mr. Lanahan said that the narrative will help with the metrics’ measurements. Some regions will place more of an importance on the increase or decline of VMT than others, so the narrative will explain what the measure of the metric means. Mr. Tidikis suggested including measuring the business tax base for property and tangible taxes in all of the counties. Chairman Smyth asked if occupancy rates would be included in that measure and Mr. Tidikis said that the measure would not include tourism. Ms. Thompson asked if the measures in the Plan would be presented county by county or on a consolidated basis. Mr. Lanahan anticipated consolidating all of the measures since it is a regional plan and EDA is looking for the Plan update to be concise. PUBLIC COMMENT None. COMMITTEE COMMENT Ms. Thompson stated regarding the implementation of the Plan, an ambassador representing each county should be sought after for the Plan’s implementation. Mr. Mathes said that EDA offers a planning grant for eligible recipients to develop a specific strategy that could take one of the CEDS Plan’s big ideas to the next level. Ms. Thompson agreed and also said that the Plan’s implementation needs to be from the top down. Draft Subject to Modifications 10 STAFF COMMENT None. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Griffin moved adjournment of the meeting. Ms. Thompson seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m. Motion