A Publication of the Pinellas Planning Council

SUMMER 2004 In This Issue... •   Wireless Facilities Study Breaks New Ground •   Welcome New Members •   New Officers Elected •  A Closer Look at Planning Issues: Redevelopment and Business Incentives

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Wireless Facilities Study Breaks New Ground

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Welcome New Members

Mayor Beverley Billiris City of Tarpon Springs

Mayor Billiris was born in Toronto, Canada, and moved to Tarpon Springs more than twenty years ago. She has an associate's degree from St. Petersburg Junior College, a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida, and a master's degree from Nova University. A former elementary schoolteacher, she now runs a retail shop, import-export business, and tour company in Tarpon Springs. After serving as a city commissioner for five years, she was elected mayor in 2004. She has a husband, George.

Commissioner Susan Latvala Pinellas County

Commissioner Latvala is a twenty-five year resident of Pinellas County. She attended Western Kentucky University and Spencerian Business College, and has been a real estate broker, owner of a property management company, and a participant in a family direct mail business. After serving on the Pinellas County School Board for eight years, she was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2000 and became Chairman in 2004. She and her husband Jack have four children.

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New Officers Elected

Councilmember Bill Foster Vice-Chairman City of St. Petersburg
		Councilmember Foster is a native of St. Petersburg. He was appointed to the City Council in 1998 and re-elected in 1999 and 2003. He has served on several city boards and committees, including the Community Focus Group on Downtown Development and the Codes Compliance Committee. He holds a bachelor's degree in public administration and a law degree, both from Samford University in Alabama. He has practiced law in St. Petersburg for sixteen years. He and his wife Wendy have two children.

Councilmember Sandra Bradbury Secretary City of Pinellas Park

Councilmember Bradbury was born in New Orleans and moved to Pinellas Park when she was four years old. She holds an associate's degree from St. Petersburg Junior College, and is the Marketing Team Leader for Sam's Club in Pinellas Park. Elected in March 2002, she has previously served on the city's Board of Adjustment. She is the second generation of her family to participate in Pinellas Park government, after her father, former Mayor Cecil Bradbury, who also served on the PPC.

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A CLOSER LOOK AT PLANNING ISSUES

Redevelopment and Business Incentives

The Pinellas Planning Council and the Pinellas County Economic Development Department have combined their resources in order to establish a redevelopment initiative focused on jobs creation. In order to retain and attract high-wage employers, one technique often used is to provide a variety of business incentives.

One might think that little needs to be done to make employers want to stay or relocate here, but recent reports of some of them leaving the county for other nearby locations are warning signs. While it is true that Pinellas County is a desirable location, high-wage employers often need large tracts of land on which to build or expand, a need the county has difficulty fulfilling because of buildout. In order to keep the high-wage employers we have and attract others to the county, providing business incentives is a technique that is often effective. As Bill Fruth of POLICOM, Inc., one member of the consultant team working on the initiative says, “market forces, a limited supply of [desirable] companies, and a large demand by communities, have fostered the creation of business incentives.”

But would every redevelopment, or activity calling itself redevelopment, receive incentives? No, they would not. A new drug store on the corner outside of a defined redevelopment area would not qualify for incentives because that business does not meet the definition of a contributory employer, i.e., one that imports money to the community by doing the majority of its business outside the area. As Mr. Fruth maintains, “the axiom 'any new job will help the economy' does not hold true” because a disproportionate number of those low-paying, nonskilled jobs can actually “cause the economy to decline in quality.” Additionally, this example would not qualify for incentives because it is outside a defined employment center.

While the concept of granting incentives was met with general approval by the attendees at the two economic summits, those not familiar with why they are granted often voice their concern. For these people an educational effort is required that explains the “whys and wherefores” of providing incentives. A special issue in a county such as ours that has a multiplicity of jurisdictions is equitable distribution—not in the sense that every jurisdiction gets the same amount of incentives to distribute, but in the sense that they will grant them using the same set of criteria. A system needs to be in place so that bidding wars do not break out over which redevelopment project can get the best deal from an entity that is more liberal in granting incentives than its neighboring communities.

One way to deal with the distribution issue is to make the incentives job-based, not land-based. In other words, it is the employers that demonstrate the quality of the jobs that will be eligible for the incentives. In order to accomplish this, a jobs/incentives matrix is being developed that can be used to make determinations about what employers will or will not receive incentives.

By agreeing on the need for incentives and the criteria for granting them, Pinellas County will have at its disposal a toolkit that can be used to help fulfill the goals of the Economic Development and Redevelopment Plan for the Pinellas Community.

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Upcoming Public Hearing and Meeting Schedule Planners Advisory Committee Pinellas Planning Council Countywide Planning Authority   •   September 7, 2004 •   October 11, 2004 •   November 8, 2004 •   December 6, 2004 •   September 15, 2004 •   October 20, 2004 •   November 17, 2004 •   December 15, 2004 •   October 5, 2004 •   November 2, 2004 •   December 7, 2004 •   January 4, 2005

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The Pinellas Planning Council

* Councilmember serves on this governing body.

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The Countywide Planning Authority

Commissioner Susan Latvala, Chair Commissioner John Morroni, Vice-Chair Commissioner Calvin D. Harris, Ed.D Commissioner Karen Williams Seel Commissioner Robert B. Stewart Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd Commissioner Kenneth T. Welch

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The Pinellas Planning Council Staff