School house lessons on economic development

There are lessons to be taken away from the first new school to break ground in the county in some four decades.

Last week North Florida Child Development turned dirt with shovel, at least symbolically, on its new South Gulf County center off Field of Dreams Avenue in Port St. Joe.

In truth, NFCD officials were playing a bit of catch-up with the official ceremony as the construction contractor was already preparing to pour footers and foundation, the facility’s outlines and infrastructure in the ground.

Regardless, the ground breaking signified a six-year mission nearing the stretch run.

Lesson No. 1 – job creation takes patience.

Through various permutations and leaders, this has been a constant message from the Gulf County Economic Development Council through the years.

Job creation does not come overnight. The Port of Port St. Joe provides further evidence that economic development is about planting seeds and hoping for growth.

The message is one that has not often been heard by the Board of County Commissioners, or the two city commissions for that matter, leading to a series of self-inflicted wounds the past decade, any positive step forward matched by two steps in reverse.

Yes, there have been legitimate issues at times with EDC efforts, but county and city leaders have offered scant patience – and that lack of patience has served to exacerbate a flagging county economy and double-digit unemployment.

Lesson No. 2 – the public/private partnership.

For starters, NFCD has long had this part down pat.

The company has a symbiotic relationship with Gulf County Schools, partnering on the purchase of buses and other initiatives, providing, as Superintendent of Schools Jim Norton put it last week, a bit of seasoning for the main dish the public schools provide.

An important aspect of the move to a new facility is freeing up the old Highland View Elementary School, owned by the school district and occupied by the current NFCD South Gulf County facility, to allow the county School Board to explore leveraging that property to benefit the district.

But as one after another of the economic development experts who have toured Gulf County in recent years has attested, a key to job creation is public/private partnerships.

Government can not create jobs; only the atmosphere that fosters private sector investment to create jobs, goes the mantra.

The NFCD facility is a testament to the philosophy.

This facility does not happen without significant government fiscal assistance.

Various federal and state agencies, from Health and Human Services to Housing and Urban Development to USDA to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, public partners provided funding for planning and design, infrastructure, construction and a roadway.

The new school will have medical and dental services, in part, through federal funding.

The county and city of Port St. Joe leveraged a donation of land for a recreational complex to provide the site for the new facility.

In turn, plenty of private sector resources were brought to bear.

NFCD is a private corporation and put down a significant chunk of change upfront and will also have a loan of more than $2 million to pay off after the facility has risen from the ground opposite the Gulf/Franklin Center.

The Jessie Ball DuPont Foundation chipped in with much of the funding for the medical and dental services in the facility and NFCD held a series of community fundraisers, most particularly a highly successful golf tournament, to apply dollars to the project.

The facility also has a hefty list of corporate, organizational and individual donors from the private sector who have helped push the project along.

And, finally, the South Gulf County facility is a testament to the dogged determination of one woman in the private sector sprinting ahead with a vision.

Sharon Gaskin, CEO of NFCD, it was noted again and again last week, is not a person to take “no” for an answer.

And in a classic case of making your own opportunities, it was Gaskin who had the energy and passion to take a vision from her board, see openings and leverage them for her dream.

The county/city recreational complex, the land coming from the St. Joe Company during the WindMark Beach Development of Regional Impact (DRI) process, provided an opening to secure land for the facility.

Her persistence and reputation, forged over decades as an educator, were keys in luring so much federal funding to the project.

Her reputation and that of NFCD was certainly a factor in securing the city of Port St. Joe as a partner for a Community Development Block grant for Field of Dreams Avenue and other infrastructure.

Yes, there is plenty of public funding flowing to the project – which, under budget, will return $400,000 to USDA as well as paying off the $2 million loan – but it was a private sector force of nature that brought the stars into alignment.

Lesson No. 3 – consistency of excellence in education.

Economic development experts also talk continuously about the importance of education and its role in a community when businesses consider locating to that community.

The NFCD facility, with its services aimed at children ages 0-5 including Head Start and Early Head Start, continues the county’s gold standard for education.

By any measuring stick used by education leaders at the state and federal level, Gulf County Schools excel, an “A” district four years running.

Toss in the Gulf/Franklin Center of Gulf Coast State College, dual enrollment opportunities for high school students and a new state-of-the-art facility providing educational and medical services to the youngest among us, and the county can mark education in the “pro” column for any prospective company.

Mix in some patience and the right public/private partnership, add a healthy dose of passion, and what NFCD really provided last week was a template for potential job creation in the county – provided community leaders are paying attention.