Smart Growth?

Smart Growth?

GOVERNMENT WATCH

The slowing economy isn't the only worry facing business owners. Government growth decisions

are troubling some entrepreneurs, too.

Editor's Note: The following letter was written by Manatee County business owner Mary Forristall, who sent it to Manatee County commissioners. She wrote the letter in response to two recent stories published in the Review: One was a column written by Editor and Publisher Matt Walsh March 28 regarding anti-growth compromises made by business leaders in Sarasota County. A second story was published in the April 18 Review that highlighted the costs and problems an Ohio executive encountered when trying to move his company from Toledo to Bradenton. Foristall's letter was one of several responses the Review received on the issue.

Editor's Note: The following letter was written by Manatee County business owner Mary Forristall, who sent it to Manatee County commissioners. She wrote the letter in response to two recent stories published in the Review: One was a column written by Editor and Publisher Matt Walsh March 28 regarding anti-growth compromises made by business leaders in Sarasota County. A second story was published in the April 18 Review that highlighted the costs and problems an Ohio executive encountered when trying to move his company from Toledo to Bradenton. Foristall's letter was one of several responses the Review received on the issue.

I am a resident and business owner in Manatee County. I have lived and worked here for over 23 years. I am a native Floridian. I have never written to you before, although I did appear before Joe McClash once to speak out against the first of many impact fee increases that have taken place in the past four years.

I am enclosing two articles that were recently published in the Gulf Coast Business Review. I realize that many of you may not have the opportunity to read these articles, so I have provided them to you. It is imperative that you really start understanding the dynamic of growth, development and proper planning.

It is imperative that we embrace smart development and growth. We have the opportunity to become a really amazing community due to the miles of shoreline and river front that we have. We are also positioned well because of the Port of Manatee, the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport and the Tampa Airport.

I realize that you have made many decisions in the past that have been very anti-growth and development. I hope that you will open your minds to the fact that you have "killed the goose that laid the golden egg." Businesses are failing at an all time record rate. We have more and more businesses and individuals choosing to leave our community.

Why, you ask? Because the commissioners and the building department have made this community the most unfriendly, inaccessible, costly, and difficult county to deal with. I speak from experience on many levels. I have been in construction here for 23 years. I have owned numerous properties here for 23 years. Most recently, I even attempted to develop a parcel of land here. I can tell you that it was a most unpleasant experience. I also pull permits on a regular basis in Manatee County for our projects. I can also tell you that the process has become incredibly cumbersome over the past six years. It has gone from a 2-3 week process to a 2-month process.

What I am trying to say is that the entire state is feeling this downturn. There are 67 counties in the State of Florida, with approximately 36 of those counties having beachfront shoreline. We are all competing for the same (finite) group of businesses and individuals that are considering relocation. Those entities will base their decision on overall amenities, services, attractions, taxes, employment opportunity, and other opportunities.

At this point we don't offer any advantages on any of those points. We are increasingly becoming reliant on the retiree that lives on a fixed income. That demographic is the group that does not want to see new developments or growth. That is a declining income group, and not a positive group that we should be shaping our future to accommodate.

Please read these very well written, well-researched articles. Please look beyond the immediate to our future potential. We need growth and development to spur our economic engine. We need to encourage and incentive business in every way we can. We will increase our tax base, increase our employee pool, provide for an exciting and dynamic future and establish our community as a forerunner in the State of Florida.

I will leave you with one final thought: When Wellcraft pulled out of Manatee County, not only did we lose over 200 jobs and a tenant in a huge commercial building. We lost the jobs of many of the supporting vendors that supplied services and materials to Wellcraft. Many of the individuals that worked for Wellcraft had to relocate due to no other job availability. We lost the tax revenue from their building, as well as their boat sales.

So how much is all of that? Consider this, Wellcraft had been here for more than 20 years. They were very well established. If they can't make it here, who can? That is just one company in the past year. How many more have left that we didn't read about on the front-page? What about Tropicana? Do you really believe that our community is going to survive on farming anymore? Where is the tax base going to come from?

Wake up to the fact that we need growth and development. Let us embrace the very lifeline of our existence.

Mary Forristall, President

Forristall Enterprises, Inc.

Share your

feelings

Have you or your colleagues or peers run into government-induced difficulty when trying to grow your business? Or has your experience with county, city and municipal governments on the Gulf Coast been pleasant? Send your stories to the Review at [email protected]. graphic location, seasonal timing, age group and economic status.