CREW Jacksonville Hears from Northeast Florida Regional Leaders

DOES SIZE STILL MATTER – THE “Re”EVOLUTION OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA

By Emily F. Crews

On March 6^th, CREW Jacksonville heard from four great panelists:  Cathy Chambers, JAXUSA Partnership, VP Business Development and Marketing; Elaine Brown, Former Council President City of Jacksonville and current Chair of First Coast Consortium; Stan Totman, Mayor of the City of Baldwin and immediate past chair of the Northeast Florida League of Cities; and Bob Rhodes, Regional Transportation Study Commission and Co-Chair of the Innovate Northeast Florida.  Brian Teeple, Chief Executive Officer, Northeast Florida Regional Council served as the facilitator for the panel. 

Elaine Brown discussed Reality Check, a program that brought 300 people from seven counties together to engage in a discussion about Northeast Florida will look like in 50 years.  The program focused on a regional approach to the growth and development of northeast Florida and opportunities and advantages from a regional approach.  She emphasized that residents from all seven counties in northeast Florida should work together on our priority list – for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.  She also discussed business opportunities available when counties work together to  bring business to northeast Florida.  The Reality Check exercise mapped out a plan to achieve goals together.

Bob Rhodes discussed First Coast Vision which sprang from the Reality Check program and which is a seven-county regional vision plan that addresses land use, economic development, transportation and human resources.  He also discussed the  Strategic Regional Policy Plan that has been developed by the Regional Transportation Council. 

JTA had previously evaluated the need for a regional transportation authority and in 2010, the Legislature enacted the Regional Transportation Study Commission (RTSC) chaired by JTA.  The study indicated that our region faces significant transportation issues.  One significant fact is the number of workers that cross county lines:

·         52% of Baker County workers

·         52.5% of Clay County workers

·         39.3% of St. Johns County workers

The study also found that local commute times average the highest in the state, with Clay County at 31 minutes and St. Johns County at 26.7 minutes.  Bob also stated that a key logistics center is a goal for the northeast Florida region.  He emphasized that while there are challenges, we are not in a crisis mode like some other areas of the state. 

As chair of the Governance and Funding Committee of the RTSC, Rhodes stated that the committee hopes to have recommendations by April, 2012.   Public input will be sought during the summer and the committee will reconvene in the fall and develop a final report.

Cathy Chambers with JaxUSA Partnership discussed the rebranding of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce economic development arm (formerly known as Cornerstone).  The name change was made due to the increased importance of regionalism and their goal is to market the region to successful companies as an enticement for them to relocate their operations to this area.  Her job is to sell the region every day.  She meets monthly with local  chambers in the region to discuss potential deals and they work together with clients to get a commitment to the region, then they pinpoint the ideal location in the region that will meet the company’s needs.  One of the overriding issues is that Jacksonville has 90% of the existing real estate in the region.

Chambers also discussed Innovate Northeast Florida, which was created to conduct a separate study using a $250,000 grant to look at target industries.  She stated that the region has wonderful assets and she enjoys the opportunity to bring in site consultants – it’s the true joy of her job because our area shows so well.

A member of the audience asked about the importance of Jacksonville’s downtown revitalization to the region.  Brown’s response was that regional partners really do care about Jacksonville’s downtown, because it is a first impression when you enter northeast Florida.  She stated that it must be revitalized and it cannot be a blighted area.  Everbank’s relocation to downtown, together with the new Duval County Courthouse opening are both huge for downtown revitalization.  She stated that Art Walk also creates excitement and that there are more bars and restaurants along Bay Street now.  “It will be that gem once again in our future,” Brown said.

Another member of the audience asked why Comcast doesn’t serve the Bay Street downtown area.  Brown stated that all of downtown is wired and that the infrastructure is there, but it is cost prohibitive. 

An audience member asked the panel to name some of the country’s best models of the regional approach to growth management.  Teeple stated that in his opinion, good examples include the regional governance of Portland and Seattle.  Rhodes mentioned that Indianapolis is also a good model and that Florida is light years away from that model.

In her final remarks, Brown mentioned that opportunities in the medical industry in our region could deliver incredible results.  She also stated that businesses should be advocating for regionalism in growth management. 

Teeple suggested a “homework” assignment for the audience: he tasked the audience to create a menu showing what they think is our regional identity, similar to a restaurant menu – that is indicative of Northeast Florida.