By Harriet Johnson Brackey
Business Writer
Posted November 10 2005
Sun-Sentinel.com
The first economic summit in more than a decade in Palm Beach County drew several hundred people to the Palm Beach Convention Center to discuss and vote on the issues the county needs to address as it manages its future growth.
"For so many years, we've let things happen and then we react to them," said Richard Staudinger, an engineer at CH2M Hill in West Palm Beach who attended the meeting. "We can't continue that way."
The list of topics is familiar to anyone in South Florida who has struggled with traffic congestion, high housing prices and below-average salaries.
To remain competitive, Palm Beach needs to diversify its industry base to attract better-paying jobs, ensure that workers get sufficient education, and help residents deal with rapid growth, high housing prices and transportation, according to an analysis presented by the Economic Development Research Institute.
"For so many years, we've let things happen and then we react to them," said Richard Staudinger, an engineer at CH2M Hill in West Palm Beach who attended the meeting. "We can't continue that way."
When the meeting continues today, it will focus on housing affordability.
At Wednesday's session, the summit heard from economic development and government officials about their efforts in Palm Beach. Then participants went into small sessions to discuss six industry groups.
At the Smart Growth and Transportation discussion, the estimated 150 participants heard urban planning expert Reid Ewing, a professor at the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, and Atlanta architect Mike Sizemore, discuss concepts for land use and transportation development that have eased traffic congestion as well as increased business investment in and around Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, the Town Center in Smyrna, Ga. and downtown Columbia, Md.
The group then took an instant vote -- using electronic keypads at every seat -- to decide what issues and strategies should be the most important to Palm Beach's future.
The lack of affordable work-force housing drew the highest number of votes as an issue, followed closely by the need for funding for public transportation.
The summit culminates a nearly yearlong process involving dozens of volunteers from business, government, education, environmental and other groups.
When votes are tallied on all topic areas, the blueprint is then to be discussed with county officials, with the eventual aim of crafting the county's official economic development plans next year, according to Palm Beach Economic Development Director Kevin Johns.
"It's all about how we're going to direct our growth," said Dennis Grady, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches and a participant. "When we have the results, I definitely think the Board of County Commissioners will act on them."
|
