Pasco EDC third quarter report

1:07:22Um we can do our consent agenda or we can Pull up our eleven fifteen. What's

1:07:29what's your closing? I'm good with getting the eleven fifteen done.

1:07:33Okay. Bill, uh we'll we'll go ahead and pull you up.

1:07:38Good morning and uh happy Tuesday, everyone. It's a great day in Pasco County. Um Bill Cronin, I'm the president and CEO of the Pasco EDC. I also like trees. I'm a former UA soccer coach and an organ donor. So you you had me uh following some really great representation of our community today and I and I wish the soccer folks were still here because I bet you that there's gonna be a business that actually moves here because of the fact that we've got such great recreational youth sports,

1:08:08and somebody's some decision maker of some factory or some business is gonna move here because of how we treat our people and our families. So talk about putting the premiere in a Premier County. I don't know if y'all caught that with the name, but uh I'm here today to uh present our third quarter. Report from the Pasco EDC, both for the MOU and for our Penny for Pasco agreement with the county. And just starting out on our starting slide for our board retreat this year, usually we go scalloping,

1:08:39but it's always up to our chair of what they want to do. And this year they decided they want to pay back the community. So we all spent time at Metropolitan Ministry. had a really successful day and I would encourage any of our audience or businesses consider doing these days of service. It's a not just a team-building event but also means a lot to the people that we serve and especially when they see you guys out doing it. Good news, we've got uh fift out of the uh 16 goal for 16 wins, we've got 15

1:09:09so far. One of the things that we're noticing though is that a lower job count for almost every type of company coming in right now. And we're seeing this not just in Pasco County, but nationwide. Companies, companies' goal is not to hire more people. Companies' goals are to make more money. And we see more and more investment in things like machinery and AI and things like that in less jobs. So uh we're gonna be taking a hard look at those target industries to make sure that we're still getting

1:09:39the right types of jobs for the right people. But even even so, we're still at four hundred and thirty-seven jobs already this year into our third quarter and a hundred and one million dollars of new capital investment into the county.

1:09:54Yeah. So Bill, on your on your jobs. We count the physical Hard bodies here. We don't count remote employment opportunities.

1:10:04And we don't count the multiplier. So these are direct jobs that the company has agreed to, full-time jobs that they've agreed to hire. So anything that's remote, anything that's part-time, uh none of those count. And then also the multiplier effect, we don't count those either. So these are just direct.

1:10:23Would there be a way to ins to to when we look at the job count to Incentivize or if we maybe we already do have the conversation of if you have a remote worker use Pasco based remote work workforce. Is that part of the conversation or

1:10:39it's it it's not but it's something we watch really carefully because if there's enough of those remote workers here eventually somebody's going to move a facility here and take advantage of having those remote workers here. It is a big deal for us though because if you remember after COVID, we were the second most popular place in the in the state for work from home because of our quality of life. So the more of that talent that moves here, the more attractive it is for another business to come here and build a bricks and

1:11:09mortar facility. And that's what we really want, because if they're working from home It's great, but they can they can go anywhere. It's a good question. It's something we watch really closely. And the types of industry. So this again still reflects a real heavy uh focus on advanced manufacturing. Those are the ones that have a lot more multiplier jobs. Uh I think Commissioner Starkey really likes this as well too, because that's uh ties in with our trades and our programs like the apprenticeship program and AMSkills. And training.

1:11:40I mentioned before a focus on talent, getting out, working with our existing companies. We still spend about eighty percent of our time with our existing business. And that's still the best advertisement we have for other businesses to come in is how you treat your existing business. So training that workforce for existing business, we get to keep them. Company visits and working with them, that is the local business that's already here. 54 visits to those companies and then working with our workforce development partners like

1:12:10AMSkills, Career Source, Workforce Connect, our program. This still seems to be the most important thing for existing business is the workforce. Um year to date earned media value, four point nine three me uh million dollars. That's where other people talk about us, not us talking about ourselves. So that's good. It's always good when somebody else tells our story. Speaking of which, today we're gonna have an announcement for another company coming in um that is a high tech company.

1:12:41As a matter of fact, it's really cool science that uh Uh it's a British company from the UK that we met at Softweek. And they actually have invented a machine that can lift fingerprints uh remotely using a camera, through windows, on glass. We're working closely with the Sheriff's Department. Are you allowed to

1:13:01talk about that publicly?

1:13:03Uh it'll be in the news today. So I'm giving you guys a little glimpse of it.

1:13:08It's it's amazing. They can pick it up off mirrors, off phones. Um and and what's really important about that is nobody has to disturb the crime scene. Yeah, they they can actually just pick it up without touching anything at all uh and get the fingerprints in several fingerprints. So um they're gonna be at our incubator and what Wesley Chapel and working closely with First, the forensics uh unit at the Sheriff's Office. So um good foreign direct investment, good tech stuff, uh, and good for the work that we've

1:13:38been doing in defense and special operations forces. They'll have an open house at our incubator next week. So that's our second

1:13:44UK business because we have the one that bought um

1:13:48Sorry, third. Third. Yeah. We had a we had another IT company last year. Okay. And then we had the uh purchase of um uh Miopta from G and H, uh which is another company working in defense using optics too. So uh we're well on our way. We're not just the life sciences uh hub anymore. You're gonna start to see a lot more defense. And you'll see a lot more of that in the headlines as well too. Um still looking at the same things are s are sites. So in Florida there's not a lot of places

1:14:18with sites, especially ready sites that are ready to go. Um that really gets people's attention when they're looking to move down here. And where are they moving from? Still New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan. Um as I like to say, only the smart ones are moving down here that we're l we're leaving the rest of 'em up there.

1:14:39Still good social engagement on our um social media, 14,000 followers, but over half of them are actually engaging with us, meaning that they're having conversations and um sharing with us and vice versa in social media. And then as far as getting out uh working with our other communities, working with the industry, we've attended 21 trade events, uh five conferences in seven. And presentation to eight different industry groups and organizations. And that's everything from Rotary to

1:15:10ULI to Uh some of the real estate organizations. The photo there is uh ourselves with our partners in Hillsborough and Pinellas County. As you know, we work together with Global Tampa Bay, and this is at the uh FEDC annual conference, which last time I was with y'all I reported that we had won a couple of awards at the FEDC.

1:15:31That rug is the wrong rug for a picture. It's like Yeah.

1:15:36The what the rug?

1:15:38The rug. It ca it's like it's it

1:15:39going

1:15:40up the wall. No, the Yeah, they gotta fix that rug.

1:15:45You're right.

1:15:46That's optical illusion.

1:15:48It looks like waves. I think it was in the the hotel was on the water, so I think they were going with the the nautical theme. But uh as far as how we do with our private investors, up to ninety-three. Um got a hundred and eighty thousand raised so far this year. We've got our big annual awards coming up and we're back at Saddlebrook. So September fourth, the Thursday after Labor Day. Back to Saddlebrook. You remember the days that we had the trade show? Well the trade show is back. So you'll have an opportunity to meet with those companies. And if you've never

1:16:18exhibited before, uh we still have some extra spots open for first time exhibitors at fifty five hundred dollars. So

1:16:25Madam Chair. Yeah. So I just was at a lunch and learn there, I'll tell you they they've redone it over, it looks beautiful inside. They did a nice job in there.

1:16:32Oh no, that's right.

1:16:35Yeah, I think we're the first big event after um the complete reno. So Florida Sports Coast had their event earlier this year. Yeah. Extremely well done. Um this is gonna be something that once again we brag about when it comes to people coming into our community. It's definitely an asset. So uh on the penny for Pasco side, uh some of the awards that I mentioned that we had to FEDC, we do have IEDC coming up, the International Economic Development Council. And I'm hoping, anticipating that we may see some similar

1:17:05awards for that. Bless you. And of those um of those awards though, I'll mention that uh one was for our 3D uh sites video of our ReadySites, which uh is getting awards but getting lots of looks, pun intended. Also though the um uh co co-starters for causes, which co-starters for causes, you remember last year we announced we were gonna offer co-starters courses to our nonprofits. because our nonprofits here uh weren't able to scale

1:17:35as fast as our growth in the community. So we actually got a recognition award for helping to get our nonprofits up in scaling. And yesterday we just had our second cohort start with another group of nonprofits and we sponsored them, but also the Greater Pasco Chamber sponsored a couple of their new members to go through that process. And we've got another group of co-starters graduating this week as well too. So lots of new innovation. Ready sites

1:18:06continue construction at the Amazon site and at Bauduco. Both of those are vertical, you can see. Double branch, the whole park is in the process of certification, and that's at 52 and 75. And then we're getting a lot of inquiries still from aviation, defense, our our thousand-acre site out in East Pasco. We've got some very quiet defense companies that are looking at that because they like the nature of having a quiet place. And I

1:18:36think our residents like that as well, too. So uh 26 inquiries so far. Uh had a site visit this last week to that larger site. Presentations to the consultants and the developers 22. uh international and I mentioned Soft Week. So that's a Special Operations Forces uh uh show formerly known as SOF SOFIC down in Tampa, and that's where the defense firms are selling uh to the US government. So if you've got a new invention and you want uh Delta

1:19:06Force or the Navy SEALs to get it, this is where you go to get them to purchase it. We found that a lot of those companies want to be within arms r length to SOCOM and CENTCOM uh and that's why we got companies like the one that is announcing today.

1:19:21So um I I meant to go and I just got too busy. Um I know every other year it's the big year.

1:19:27Every other year is a demo, yeah.

1:19:29Yeah, so next year's the demo year, right?

1:19:31Yes, yes. So they'll be trying out their toys. Uh you'll see them repelling from buildings, submarines. Uh well I guess you don't see the submarines if you're underwater. But um that is a good time to go because it's how they they let the general public enjoy some of that.

1:19:47So so um I and I know my and our international economic development um task force that that Turner is involved with, we have a gentleman who's very involved with this. And um he says that You know, it's It's a great opportunity for us because they want they want to be here with McDill. And but there's running out of places in Hillsborough County.

1:20:09They're they're running out of places nationwide to be able to do things like testing some of these new inventions too. So uh if you're gonna if you're building something at Softworks or or JTEF where the um the Iron Man suit was developed, you remember? Yeah, my friend. You have to go test it somewhere. And uh we're within range that somebody can get in a car and come up and test. And we're also really good about taking care of our business up here. So we see this as as a a real great opportunity for Pasco County going forward.

1:20:41Also international, Select USA, which is the U.S. Department of Commerce's annual event where they bring in foreign direct investment from all over the United States. We attended with our partners in Pinellas and Hillsboro under the global Tampa Bay, met with probably 130 different companies while we were there. And then foreign direct investment mission to the UK. And you'll see a picture of our Chair, Commissioner Starkey, there. This was a foreign

1:21:11direct investment mission. Our second one to the UK with the group, and we've we are now so full with appointments that we had to break into several tracks to be able to meet with the company. companies that wanted to come here. So as mentioned before we've got three so far that have come from the UK. Export counseling sessions still helping the companies find new markets abroad. So uh that's to make our pie bigger, help our companies sell their stuff somewhere else, not just here. The One Trade Mission we

1:21:41mentioned, and that was Mexico City and UK, and then trade-related events are some of those educational events that we do throughout the year. I mentioned the awards that we got through our enhanced marketing. We're going to continue to do testimonials from our Smart Start program. Nothing better than seeing our locals be able to talk about the success of They're having with their businesses. And then Workforce Connect, we had a Pasco 50 that was a packed house. Over 50

1:22:11employers were there to be able to share their best practices and challenges that they were having with everything from hiring practices to transportation. I heard Commissioner Weightman talking earlier. Those are the types of things that we get an inside glimpse of the company. Yeah. And then um our annual report, employer report was released also during this last quarter. We do that in conjunction with career source.

1:22:40And then Smart Start was uh all over the place. We saw that they were at several different expos at CTE. Um again, Smart Start's our incubator program and our entrepreneur program. We had our microloan uh uh luncheon, where we're actually looking, or breakfast, we're looking to attract more investment into that microloan program. And then we had seven companies uh in the most recent cohort for CoStart. which are graduating Thursday at uh at the Grove and Wesley Chapel. I'm sorry. Thursday will be at holiday

1:23:10at the Amskills location. Um so far this year with Smart Start, we've had over 200 counseling sessions to 368 participants in 51 events. We have 51 incubator members. Uh that's amongst the three different locations, and we've given out three microloans totaling eighty-six thousand dollars. And then uh that's the team. I think um Um I talked about co-starters, I talked about the uh

1:23:41Um Awards that we received. Um I think probably the most important thing though is to to get the word out that they know these programs exist and that they're there not just for companies moving in but for our existing companies so that we can continue to be the premier county that we heard about earlier. So with that I'll stop and see if you all any questions.

1:24:02Um I I heard through the grapevine about an award at IEDC but you didn't mention it. So I was kinda digging here. 'Cause we're about to put it in the letter I'm gonna hopefully Have this board sign on to and send it to Al Ahassi. So are you not allowed to say that?

1:24:18There might be one coming soon in September.

1:24:21Yes.

1:24:21Yeah. Yeah. Because

1:24:23I think it's on their website. So can you

1:24:25Oh that might be last year's award.

1:24:26No, no. No, it's this year in September.

1:24:29Yeah. Yeah. September. For AM

1:24:31skills.

1:24:34For our award?

1:24:35So Derek and uh someone from Ampskills applied for an award at IEDC and we won the silver award.

1:24:43Oh okay, yeah. So maybe

1:24:45you didn't know.

1:24:46Yeah. Yeah, it'll be it'll be officially announced

1:24:52Okay, pretend

1:24:52you didn't hear

1:24:52that,

1:24:53but

1:24:53it is in this letter. Which

1:24:55is pretty cool. This is a national award, if not international award.

1:24:58Yeah, it's our it's our accreditation agency, it's the IEDC that uh for all the economic development agencies in the the world. So uh we've got a a couple coming for us, one for AM Skills. Oh I think uh Pasco's gonna sh shine really well. Well um nationally.

1:25:15Pretty cool. Um Any other questions?

1:25:18I draw a comment. Uh I want to say um Dan Mitchell's been out at the uh Pasco Music uh Scarlet Music Fest. Uh and Chef Dre again is out there this year. And what he what a job he's done. He shows up every time, great smile on his face, sets up his whole program, lets it all up, puts a nice spread out, and he started working with the Pointe de Sturios doing their samples. So they're taking his Jamai Jamaican jerk sauce with the spiced rum. uh as one of the dishes and it's phenomenal. And he's cooking out of a

1:25:48grill right in front of everybody on so he's kinda like face to face with him, which is awesome. He's got his business cards out there. Cooks face to face out of the the grill in the walk. Lays out a great spread, but he's done a phenomenal job every step of the way. And I will tell you he makes the best shrimp cocktail I've ever had.

1:26:04So if you don't have a

1:26:05incredible job he's doing.

1:26:09program at um in Dade City. And he runs the restaurant at Saint Leo in the student hall or whatever that's called.

1:26:17Oh no, different, different. That's Dave. That's uh uh that's uh John's gourmet. This is Doc this is Chef Dref Dre, yes, who also went through the program too. So I've

1:26:28had his food and it's I don't know where I had it.

1:26:31was

1:26:31he at your uh awards dinner last year?

1:26:34Uh Chef Dre's had a number of different events. He uh if you recall, we had the open house each year at the Stalling Center where they they have their all their different samples out there. So that might have been it.

1:26:48So does he cater?

1:26:49Yes, and he caters. Um but I I love the the collaboration story of taking one of our existing businesses and working together. And there's one more weekend. And then we're going to have to Of Scout Fest this this weekend. So you still have a chance to get out there and we have

1:27:05we actually made it available. We had uh we got a few food few food trucks there, but we've made a a really nice dish for people to get for like six bucks that they get a taste of everything on there and it's phenomenal and people have been raving about it, just coming back, thanking us, et cetera. So he's getting to get a lot of great exposure, getting to see the people and uh he's he's just such a great man to work with. Yeah.

1:27:24Well I'm gonna talk to you later about having him at an Amp Skills today.

1:27:27Awesome.

1:27:28Because you know, we should help help our new local businesses grow. Um any other questions for Mr. Clinton?

1:27:35Getting hungry. Thank you again for all you do.