county council quarterly update september 09
DESCRIPTION
The Lowcountry Economic Network\'s quarterly report to the Network board and Beaufort County CouncilTRANSCRIPT
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Lowcountry Economic Lowcountry Economic Network & AllianceNetwork & Alliance
Quarterly Reportto
Beaufort County CouncilPublic Safety Committee
September 8, 2009
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GoalsGoals
• Brand the Lowcountry as a place to live a high quality of life and to do business
• Increase business prospect traffic by 25%
• Improve regional government policies and processes to create a business friendly environment
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MarketingMarketing
• Recognized branding requires aggressive marketing:– online GIS system to search available product– strategic print and electronic advertising– extended media outreach – blogs, Twitter,
Facebook, etc. – planned Pecha Kucha Night –
www.pknbeaufort.com - October 8
• Strategy is already paying off
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The Network’s annual presentation has been viewed online almost 200 times.
http://www.lowcountrynet.org/annualvideo
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Prospect Traffic Prospect Traffic • The Lowcountry has been discovered!
– DOC identified Lowcountry for 4 potential projects in last 2 months:knowledge-intensive (1 prospect)manufacturing (2 prospects)distribution (1 prospect)
– Actively working 18 serious prospects, plus 3 smaller enquiries
• Welcomed Kazoobie Kazoos to Beaufort!
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Prospect TrafficProspect TrafficRecent DOC RFI Criteria• Local college or university• Available water supply of 18 – 25 million gallons per year• Within 2 hours of a major urban area with commercial
airport• Population between 30,000 – 300,000 individuals• Progressive – culturally, environmentally, politically, culinary• Outdoor centric• Environmentally focused• Quality workforce• Reliable and affordable utilities; progressive utility providers• Availability of potential facility locations
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Potential JobsPotential Jobs• Active enquiries count 1,304 jobs
540
325
165
85
89
100
Green
Healthcare
Headquarters
Knowledge-Intensive
Manufacturing
Production
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Prospect CultivationProspect Cultivation
• Marketing and target industry focus yielding strong prospect interest
• Ongoing efforts include:– site selection conferences– education of real-estate community– ‘behind the gates campaign’
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Product DevelopmentProduct Development
Prospects need available space or acreage:
Beaufort Commerce Park• Excavation and construction of master
stormwater system underway• proposals received to construct outlet
structures to complete gateway ponds• positioning Park for aeronautics target industry
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Product DevelopmentProduct DevelopmentMunicipalities• Identifying infill opportunities in the City, Port Royal,
Bluffton and Hilton Head• Target industries: knowledge-intensive and greenJasper• Adding available product in County and Hardeeville
to GIS• Identifying priority areas for economic development• Jasper Ocean Terminal and logistics industry focus
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Business Friendly Business Friendly EnvironmentEnvironment
• Objective:– assist local and county governments in
the development and improvement of policy which directly affects existing business and business recruitment
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Business Friendly Business Friendly EnvironmentEnvironment
Business Licenses• review of current proposed amendments
to County Ordinance• recommend proposed modifications to
consolidate and simplify local and county BLF processes and classifications
• recommend reduced rate schedule for target industries and caps for very high revenue companies
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Business Friendly Business Friendly EnvironmentEnvironment
Green Incentives• Objective to position region’s environmental
sensitivity and develop incentives to encourage green development, green businesses and green jobs:– density & height bonuses, impervious surface (parking)
reductions– reduced fee/permitting costs– expedited permitting– Green Overlay District– state and local tax credits
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Business Friendly Business Friendly EnvironmentEnvironment
County Level• Drafted Comprehensive Plan Economic Development chapter
focusing recommendations on target industries and environmentally sensitive, business friendly community
• Participating in Airports Master Plan data gathering
Municipal Level• Provided input for economic development sections of City and
Hilton Head proposed comprehensive plans• Developed proposed set of economic development
recommendations for the Town of Hilton Head Island