Planning for the economic development future of Santa Rosa County began Monday afternoon when the first meeting of the 15-member committee appointed by county commissioners as a “transitional” committee to review how to move from TEAM Santa Rosa economic development organization to a new structure convened.

After more than an hour’s discussion and some debate, three main conclusions came out of that first meeting:

¦ when the next meetings will be scheduled

¦ that the new organization should mirror the private-public partnership model of TEAM

¦ and that Escambia County’s economic development advisor and recently hired Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce President Jim Hizer should come to speak to the Santa Rosa transitional committee as soon as possible.

The committee also chose their leadership team with East Milton businessman Claude Duvall named chairman and Ed Fortune, former state legislator and Pace businessman, named assistant/co-chairman.

As the discussion began Monday not everyone on the committee agreed with what the purpose and direction of their work should be. Jerry Couey of Milton started the discussion with a suggestion for a new name for the economic development organization and said rebranding of the county’s economic development group should be the committee’s first job.

“I think the easiest way to start is rebranding,” Couey said. “I would just throw out a suggestion

– SRCEDO, or Santa Rosa County Economic Development Organization – but I would like to hear what others think would be a good name, too.”

Couey also said he believed there should be two more meetings, and then recommendations should be sent to the county commission.

“We need to get this thing in the rear-view mirror,” he said.

Several other members said they believed re-branding should not be the first priority, and perhaps not the job of that committee.

“I think re-branding is extremely important, but I think there are more important issues first for us to handle than rebranding,” said Don Richards of Gulf Breeze. He also said he would like clarification of exactly the purpose of that 15- member committee.

“We all received a letter from (County Administrator Hunter) Walker on what our purpose as a committee is supposed to be,” Richards said. “But it is not the same thing I heard at the TEAM Santa Rosa board meeting earlier today, and it is not exactly the same as I have heard at county meetings. Are the things outlined in the letter what we are charged with? I think we need to know that first.”

Richards said he had understood they were not charged with dismantling anything, but that is not how it was being presented to the TEAM Board and staff.

“This letter says we are to review and make recommendations for reorganization and restructuring, not dismantling. Is this what we are to do?” Richards asked.

The letter was a copy of one sent by Walker to all five county commissioners dated Jan. 25. He said in the letter these were the areas he believed, as a result of the commissioners’ discussion at the Jan. 23 county meeting, that commissioners wanted this transitional committee to work on. He also asked that if any county commissioner wanted to make any changes or deletions, to let him know. The final result of that letter was then given to each of the 15 members of the transitional committee. The letter said:

Purpose (of the 15-member committee) is to review and make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on the restructuring of the County’s current economic development organization, TEAM Santa Rosa EDC, Inc. to include:

¦ transition of current executive director

¦ rebranding of TEAM Santa Rosa

¦ review of the operational structure of the organization

¦ review structure of Board of Directors regarding representation

¦ review of regional relationships and opportunities

Ferd Salomon said Monday, “So is it safe to say we all agree on a public-private entity?”

“Not necessarily,” Couey said. “There are groups and methods out there where there is one CEO of the economic development organization who reports to the county, and those groups are funded only by private monies, like Escambia County. There are several methods out there to look at.”

But committee Chair Duvall said, “Santa Rosa County commissioners have made it clear they do not want to follow Escambia County’s lead – they do not want to do it like Escambia. They have made it clear they have no interest in being involved in running an economic development program.”

Alan Isaakson said the present TEAM Santa Rosa is 100 percent independent of the county in its organization.

“I helped the county attorney draft the current contract with TEAM, and I think we need a contract like that one for any new organization,” he said. Isaakson also said he thinks the top priority is to find a new CEO, according to what he heard from commissioners.

The committee came to the majority agreement that the ‘new’ economic development organization should be a publicprivate partnership basically like TEAM. They also agreed that there should be more cooperation regionally in economic development.

By the end of the meeting they had all agreed that the County Administrator should provide a copy of the current contract with TEAM Santa Rosa to members by the next committee meeting, which is Monday, Feb. 13, at 3 p.m.

Walker was also asked to contact Hizer in Pensacola to see when he would be able to come to the committee and address questions on how to re-organize a public-private economic development organization, since committee members agreed that Hizer had made “great strides” in economic development in Escambia County.

The next four meetings will be held on Monday afternoons at 3 p.m. at the county commission chambers in Milton and will be broadcast live and taped.