DAYTON A BEACH -- Over the past two years, Volusia County taxpayers and private investors have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into an organization with one goal: Lure new employers to the community.
Whether they are getting a return on their investment into Team Volusia Economic Development Corp. depends on who you ask. One thing is certain, though: The organization is at a crossroads and will face greater scrutiny when a new CEO takes the leadership reins soon.
Team Volusia's Board of Directors will consider Tuesday extending a job offer to Keith Norden, the former president and CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.
For DeLand City Manager Michael Pleus, his community's taxpayers are getting a big bang for their buck. The city contributes $25,000 annually toward the organization's roughly $850,000 budget.
"They are doing quite a bit of work in DeLand," said Pleus, who sits on Team Volusia's Executive Committee. "I've been very pleased with the cooperation we've gotten. Unfortunately, economic development is a lot like fishing. You've got to be patient."
Founded in 2010, Team Volusia was created with the intention of creating a unified, countywide economic development front that would be funded by both private and public investors. Before the organization's creation, communities often worked against one another when it came to business recruitment, said George Mirabal, one of Team Volusia's founders.
'Now, you have people from all angles who are sitting together and doing something meaningful,' he said. 'Just the creation of Team Volusia is a huge win in and of itself because it's never happened before.'
But the organization has also picked up critics along the way. Some say it has been ineffective in accomplishing its primary objective of strengthening the local economy.
Margie Patchett, founder and director of Volusia Tax Reform, said local governments should focus more on eliminating unnecessary regulations and lowering taxes to spur economic growth than pouring dollars into organizations like Team Volusia. She would like to see economic development in Volusia streamlined and handled solely by the private sector.
"I see more businesses closed," Patchett said. "I don't see a slew of new businesses in our county. The only thing I've heard Team Volusia do is get their website up."
An earlier variation of Team Volusia called the Volusia County Business Development Corp., later known as Enterprise Volusia, dissolved in 2001 amid accusations of parochialism, exclusion and ineffectiveness.
Kerry Symolon, interim CEO of Team Volusia, said the organization has been laboring feverishly to recruit new businesses. Team Volusia's three full-time employees and a part-time bookkeeper work out of offices on the second story of the gleaming International Motorsports Center across the street from the Daytona International Speedway.
Since January, Team Volusia has launched a mail campaign to lure companies away from Syracuse, N.Y., marketed the community during the International Council of Shopping Centers tradeshow in Kissimmee and overseen the consolidation of real-estate databases for Volusia County, among other initiatives.
Team Volusia is working on 21 projects with the potential to generate 1,620 jobs, Symolon said.
"I do believe I can affect the employment rate," she said. "I can affect average wages. The work that we do will have an impact on that."
The organization has been credited with a few economic development wins. Team Volusia helped to persuade a water pump dealer called Hydra Service Inc. to move from Sanford to DeBary, adding about a dozen jobs to the community. The organization also assisted DeLand in attracting Duraline Products, which will generate 44 jobs for the community.
Two projects in particular have garnered attention as of late. Team Volusia is helping Deltona lure an unidentified multinational service-industry firm that would generate 500 jobs. The organization is also assisting DeLand in getting a California-based aircraft manufacturer to locate near the city's airport.
While Team Volusia can't point to a huge number of new jobs yet, it has faced some early challenges, said Pat Northey, a Volusia County councilwoman and member of the organization's Team Volusia Board of Directors. Helen Cauthen, the organization's inaugural CEO, only spent about a year on the job, and Symolon has led the organization on an interim basis since January.
"It's kind of a restart for everybody," Northey said. "It's a 2-year-old organization. Now, results are going to have to start happening."
Daryl Tol, chairman of Team Volusia's Board of Directors, said two developments this year will strengthen the organization.
First, a three-pronged economic development strategy was forged in the spring, providing better clarity to the different players.
Under this model, Team Volusia will focus exclusively on recruiting new businesses. Volusia County's Division of Economic Development, a nine-employee public entity, will focus on retaining and expanding existing businesses. The CEO Business Alliance, which is funded exclusively through private sources, provides an avenue for business leaders to wine and dine prospective industries without being bound by open-meetings laws.
Second, the likely addition of Norden to Team Volusia will supply the organization with an economic development pro who has experience recruiting nationally and internationally in major markets in Virginia and Tampa, Tol said.
"I think we are going to see the level of aggressiveness and level of success go up steeply," he said.
Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen said he is confident support for Team Volusia will be in place for the next few years. The county is the organization's biggest funder, providing $250,000 annually.
County Council members have expressed an interest in continuing funding for at least another three years, Dinneen said.
"We are pleased," he said. "You have to be realistic when you start something this. Economic development is not a sprint. It's a marathon."
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