Growing Green

A recent workshop on economic development in the county spotlighted the legwork that has been accomplished in a very short period of time by the Economic Development Council.

The downside, if there was one, was the evident apathy from two county commissioners, who could not have appeared less interested in the county's future bottom line.

They could have just hung a "Gone Fishing" sign in front of their chairs on the podium for all the difference their presence provided.

But the EDC has clearly had its petal to the metal, as evidenced by the slide show and overview of the strategic mission of the council and plans that are moving, if incrementally, forward.

That is the only direction executive director Ed Nelson is interested in focusing on.

"I have to look forward and do my best to bring people together," Nelson said. "And they've responded every time that I have asked."

But, Nelson added, "Patience is essential."

This because none of what the newly-reconstituted EDC brought forward for county commissioners is likely to happen overnight, or in a month, or even six months.

The encouraging aspect of the presentation is that the EDC is looking long term, assessing how to leverage the assets to grow the local economy over a period quantified by years and decades, not months.

"There is just a lot of opportunity, especially for Port St. Joe and it needs to be done right," Nelson said during a follow-up interview.

One of the first steps is realigning the EDC has an organization that now and in the future provides a buffer between the private sector and government, an independent organization that with the help of grant funds and other sources of income from the private sector becomes more a partner and less beholden to government.

The most tangible news to come out of the presentation was the announcement that Gulf County was one of three counties in Northwest Florida to be selected to partner with Florida's Great Northwest, Opportunity Florida and Enterprise Florida to create a "green" technology industrial park in the county.

Nelson said he'd already entered into talks with The St. Joe Company concerning land that might be secured for the park, which would be constructed to tap into the wealth of wood available in the county.

Florida's Great Northwest will provide grant funding for a consultant to come in and consider the gap between what the county has to offer and what would be required to create such an industrial park, which is in keeping with Gov. Charlie Crist's and President Barack Obama's stated goals of creating new "green" industries.

"This is dynamic and it is real," Nelson said, noting the abundance of trees (wood) to go along with a burgeoning port as well as rail and waterway connections the port will provide as assets for the creation of the industrial park.

From a broad perspective, Florida's Great Northwest helps provide identity for Gulf County and Nelson is convinced the port will happen, with the county canal and access to Intracoastal Waterway as crucial to the port's success as well as that of the "green" industrial park.

Florida's Great Northwest will fund the engineering work, do the design and layout for the park and will help with marketing the industrial park.

"It's a huge opportunity for us," Nelson said, noting that the park has the potential for providing a spot for as many as eight different clean energy projects. "This could be a biggie for us. We have the wood source, we have the port."

The EDC plan, however, is hardly focused solely on the "green" industrial park.

The strategic plan, which Nelson noted the entire board has yet to sign off on, is one that puts a bull's-eye on the assets already existing in the county - from the parks and events on the waters in the north end of the county to the hospital and port under construction on the south end.

"We are working focusing on the companies that are here because they will be the ones who will help turn this economy around," Nelson said. "This plan is based on the assets in the county, in this community, the quality of life here.

"I don't want to see this place change. We can maintain the character of this town and make the economy grow."

One could consider Nelson and his board one of those key assets, despite the bullying that has come out of the county commission room in the past, a past Nelson is not interested in dwelling upon.

He is sensitive to the politics involved in a small-town environment and to the need to receive buy-in from all stakeholders, from St. Joe to the county to the municipalities to the redevelopment agency, Tourist Development Council and Chamber of Commerce, just to skim the surface.

Nelson has a long and distinguished career in just this kind of endeavor, having formed several companies of his own and working for several economic development entities in the Atlanta metro area.

The building blocks in Gulf County are there, it is a question of adding structure to the foundation and reaching out to businesses in and out of the county to consider how attractive this slice of paradise can be.

"It's just a matter of time," Nelson said, sounding the patience mantra again. "Somehow I know we need to build people's confidence that this is going to happen. I know it will. I'm not going to fail.

"I've got a lot of confidence in this community, plus the stakeholders have come together whenever I have asked them."

With some patience and continuation of that kind of teamwork, there can be a much more green hue to the county's bottom line.