HENDRY COUNTY
Contents
About the report ...... 2 Introduction ...... 3 From Ideas to Action ...... 3 Hendry County - Assets and Ideas ...... 4 Ideas ...... 5 Event participants ...... 14
About the report The recommendations in this report are meant to provide a snapshot of the community from individuals with an outside perspective. Those who know Hendry County best may find some recommendations more feasible or appropriate for the community than others. This report is intended to help guide those closest to the community in the creation of a local economic development action plan. Economic development planning can generally be defined as policymakers’ actions that promote the economic and social well-being of a specific area. These are the plans and actions that a community may adopt to improve the well-being of its current and future residents and businesses. This report was prepared by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) in collaboration with numerous partners involved in the community’s economic development opportunities.
Figure 1: Group asset mapping activity
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Introduction Hendry County is a partner community in DEO’s Competitive Florida Partnership Program. Competitive Florida helps communities map their strengths and identify what makes them unique. Communities then target economic development opportunities and community improvements that fit within their character. The recommendations included in this report were developed through an asset mapping exercise, an integral part of the Competitive Florida Partnership. On April 26, 2017, a team of experts from state and regional agencies partnered with Figure 2: LaBelle City Wharf community leaders to visit the unique assets in Hendry County. The teams brainstormed potential opportunities to develop the assets in ways that may further economic and community development. From Ideas to Action This asset mapping report documents and builds off of ideas generated during the asset mapping exercise. Communities are encouraged to review the proposed ideas and determine whether they can incorporate these strategies in their economic development plans.
Figure 3: Various scenes of Asset Mapping in Hendry County
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Hendry County - Assets and Ideas Hendry County and its stakeholders identified 14 assets to highlight during the exercise. These assets were divided by two cities: LaBelle and Clewiston. The assets explored are as follows:
LaBelle o Grandeur Oaks o West LaBelle Development o Industrial Park o Downtown LaBelle Historic District | Old Hendry County Courthouse o LaBelle Municipal Airport | Commerce Park | Helms Road o Florida Southwestern State College o Hendry County Public Schools | Administration (LaBelle) o Dallas Townsend Agricultural Center
Clewiston o Airglades International Airport o Hendry County Public Schools – Votech Program (Clewiston) o Harlem Neighborhood o Clewiston Commerce Park o Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina o Hendry Regional Medical Center
Figure 4: Map of Hendry County Assets (click image for hyperlink to Google map)
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Ideas The following section presents ideas that arose during the staff-facilitated brainstorming activities. The left column provides the asset(s) in question, the middle column provides ideas generated by participants and the right column provides other information that could assist in the idea’s implementation.
Asset or Group of Idea Learn More / Pursue Assets
Establish a vocational college and offer programs in diesel technology, Amanda Lehrian mechanics, welding and fabrication. Florida Southwestern State College Consider offering online courses to Higher education 863.674.0408 diversify available programs at Florida [email protected] Southwestern State College. Consider
establishing an internship program for training opportunities with local businesses.
Margaret England Hendry-Glades Audubon Society 863.517.0202 [email protected]
Reach out to the City of Lakeland for more information on its outdoor, water activity Develop a craft brewery and host an options for residents and tourists. annual food truck event in Hendry County to attract communities Pursue through a Florida Recreation throughout the state. Host a cycling Development Assistance Program Grant. marathon around Lake Okeechobee. Promote ecotourism, lake fishing and Department of Environmental Protection other recreational activities such as (DEP) Office of Greenways and Trails boat tours and kayak/canoe rental contacts page. Tourism services. Attract a cruise service from Clewiston to Fort Myers and partner Contact Florida Agritourism Association to with Hendry-Glades Audubon Society receive a Florida Agritourism Toolkit: to possibly conduct tours. Promote agritourism with organized tours of Lena Juarez local farms and ranches and U-pick Executive Director fruit and vegetable operations. 850.254.5355
Reach out to Visit Florida for tourism marketing.
Look to DeLand Florida Planning Division for information and guidance about how it assisted Persimmon Hollow Brewing in its startup phase.
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DEP Greenways and Trails Create more hiking and biking trails.
Provide more signage to attract tourists Christine Small to the lakes and waterfront areas. Coordinator, Greenways &Trails Construct an amphitheater, and an Lake Okeechobee 850.245.2939 observation tower. Host art and music [email protected] festivals near the lake to attract
visitors.
List festivals on the Visit Florida website.
Coordinate with Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) regarding aviation, freight and logistics:
Aaron Smith Attract more businesses in the State Aviation Manager vicinity of the airport including Aviation and Spaceports Office restaurants/cafes and hotels. Ensure 850.414.4514 completion of the airport improvement project. Coordinate the planning and Keith Robbins operation of aviation facilities with truck District Freight Coordinator transportation facilities, including the FDOT District 1 coordination of land use, transportation 863.519.2913 Airglades and capital improvements planning and International Airport implementation. Collaborate with the Heartland Regional Transportation Benjamin Dunn Planning Organization (TPO) regarding Executive Director short and long-term planning of Heartland Regional TPO aviation facilities. Also, coordinate with 863.402.6500 Hendry County regarding the Hendry [email protected] County Comprehensive Plan and Land [email protected] Development Code.
Margaret Emblidge Planning and Community Development Director 863.675.5240 [email protected]
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Reach out to Kathy Suttles of Polk County to connect to the Hendry County Provide on-the-job training. Begin CareerSource representative: Workforce teaching courses related to job skills development / High and workforce development at the high Kathy Suttles Schools school level and offer internships to 863.508.1100 prepare students for the workforce. [email protected]
CareerSource Southwest Florida
The Community Planning Technical Assistance (CPTA) grant may serve as a part of an affordable housing development project.
Sherry Spiers at DEO (contact for CPTA grants)
850.717.8499 Build affordable housing for families [email protected] and young professionals. Extend
infrastructure to areas of potential Reach out to Martha Kohen residential development. Construct [email protected] or Nancy Clark high-density, but low-scale apartments [email protected] at the University of to increase available housing while Florida. Affordable housing preserving the sense of place in
Downtown LaBelle and Clewiston. Carol Westmoreland Consider developing in a Community Florida Redevelopment Association Redevelopment Agency (CRA) district, 850.701.3608 if possible, to receive funding. Partner [email protected] with the University of Florida for
innovative solutions. Roxanne Manning manages the
Tallahassee CRA, which has attracted multi-family developers to the area.
Florida Housing Coalition
Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s Housing Credits Program.
Take advantage of vacant and
available properties and beautify Main Street Florida Communities Downtown LaBelle by landscaping
and creating a streetscape. Expand the Ronni Wood local arts community in LaBelle by Florida Main Street Coordinator Downtown LaBelle inviting artists to showcase their work 850.245.6345 along the streets and at locally [email protected] organized/hosted art festivals. Host a
local farmers’ market each week to FDOT Complete Streets Implementation engage members of the community.
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Plan for a downtown “complete street” with a DEO Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant.
Reach out to Alissa Slade-Lotane, Division of Historical Resources at the Department of State: 850.245.6333 [email protected]
Bureau of Community Planning and Growth Revitalize the main street in Technical Assistance Grants could Clewiston by extending the royal palm potentially support a downtown planning trees south of Hwy. 27 and widening and redesign effort. sidewalks to attract small businesses Downtown and increase walkability. Develop a Clewiston FDOT Statewide Bicycle Pedestrian more defined downtown area where
economic development efforts are Mary O’Brien focused. Coordinator
Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC)
FDOT State Grants Program Establish a public transportation system to provide a way to Florida DOT District 1 contacts page commute to and from work/school for those who do not own a vehicle. Reach out to the City of Stuart to learn Consider providing transportation to more about planning for a downtown the coastal regions for access to tram/trolley service: available amenities. Discuss with the transportation planning staff at the Teresa Lamar-Sarno Southwest Florida Regional Planning 772.283.2532 Council to determine whether current [email protected] Transportation routes can be expanded or new ones can be established to connect communities with destinations such as MySidewalk app can be utilized for data- the Florida Southwestern State College driven decisions in a variety of topics, and the Americas Gateway Logistics including transportation. Center in Moore Haven. The Southwest Florida Regional Planning Welcome Uber or Lyft drivers to Council serves as the Designated Official Hendry County and provide a trolley Planning Agency for Hendry and Glades service within central downtown areas. counties, providing staff and resources to enable the joint Glades/Hendry Local Coordinating Board to fulfill its responsibilities under the Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged.
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Good Wheels is the designated Community Transportation Coordinator for Hendry County, providing transportation to Medicaid clients and to individuals unable to provide their own transportation due to age, disability or income.
The Heartland Regional Transportation Planning Organization 2040 Cost Feasible Plan currently indicates capacity/widening improvements along State Road 80, west of Clewiston, and sidewalk improvements within Clewiston, though the plan does not indicate new public transportation or transit projects within Hendry County. However, Lee County’s LeeTran public transit system currently has routes extending east to points in Fort Myers Shores and Lehigh Acres proximate to SR 80 and 15 miles west of LaBelle. Good Wheels has recently expanded its services to include a new route between Labelle and iTech in Immokalee. Similarly and through coordination with the SWFRPC, there may be potential in establishing new routes between Clewiston, Moore Haven and LaBelle.
Establish safe, overnight truck Pilot Flying J website parking to accommodate large truck traffic on US 27. Attract large travel Love’s Travel Stop website centers such as Pilot Flying J or Love’s Travel Stop to improve safety and Keith Robbins provide an option for drivers to rest and Freight Coordinator service their vehicles. Consult with 863.519.2913 FDOT to determine how Hendry [email protected] County can increase the region’s FDOT District 1 supply of overnight truck parking, potentially near the interchange of US Coordinate with the Heartland Regional Large trucks / 27 and SR 80 and the Airglades Transportation Planning Organization distribution International Airport. Efforts are (TPO) regarding short and long-term already underway by the Glades planning of truck transportation facilities: County Economic Development Council and others on the 770-acre Benjamin Dunn Americas Gateway Logistics Center Executive Director (AGLC) in the City of Moore Haven, Heartland Regional TPO approximately nine miles north of 863.402.6500 Hendry County, with Love’s Travel [email protected] Stops & Country Stores being AGLC’s [email protected] first tenant. The potential for Hendry County to increase the region’s supply Lillie Rodriguez of overnight truck parking should also Airglades International Airport 9
be coordinated with Airglades 863.675.1568 International Airport, where a plan is in [email protected] place to import perishables and export items such as auto parts by 2020. With land along the SR 80 corridor owned by U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brothers, both of which have expressed interest in the airport’s plans for the future, there may be an opportunity to establish a logistics center much like that in Moore Haven with the help of these partners and others.
Youth and afterschool programs can be funded through the Community Services Block Grant offered through the Agricultural and Labor Program Inc. (ALPI). Establish a youth center in LaBelle and offer a mentorship program. Deloris Johnson, Executive Expand afterschool programs and Director, ALPI provide curriculum on life skills. 863.956.3491, ext. 206 Incorporate academic resources and Youth support for students who do not have Al Miller, Deputy Director, ALPI these available to them at home. 863.956.3491, ext. 212 Create a local government-sponsored youth council. Fund a Boys & Girls Contact the Hendry County School Club in Clewiston and LaBelle. District’s LaBelle Youth Development Academy.
Boys & Girls Club of Hendry County
Develop local fellowships and mentoring programs at Clewiston Commerce Park. Increase workforce training in the neighborhood and aim to provide one computer to each child; pursue grants to fund these initiatives. Hendry County Workforce Development Contact Hendry County Workforce and Adult Education Development and Adult Education and Florida Southwestern State College, Clewiston Commerce Park Harlem School of Business and Technology at Neighborhood the Hendry/Glades Curtis Center in Al Perry LaBelle to determine what specific City of Clewiston, City Manager workforce needs exist and where 863.983.1484 curricula should be offered (e.g., at [email protected] Clewiston Adult School, 475 East Osceola Avenue). The Clewiston City Manager should also be contacted to determine whether Clewiston Commerce Park has the facilities or tenants in place to support these initiatives. 10
Expand and increase Wi-Fi United States Department of Agriculture networks/broadband technology (USDA)-Rural facilities grants and access to these networks. Increase communication via social USDA Community Connect Grants media and local advertisements in both English and Spanish. The Florida Rural Caroline Evans, USDA Broadband Alliance was established as 352.338.3444 a regional cooperative of local [email protected] governments, including that of Hendry County and others in south central Consider contacting the USDA Communication Florida, to provide rural and telecommunications representative for underserved communities access to Florida. broadband services. The potential for the Florida Southwestern State Contact the Information Use Management College, School of Business and & Policy Institute of the Florida State Technology to be involved in these University, College of Communication & efforts to increase access to Information and the School of Library & communication networks should be Information Studies to determine the investigated. current status of the Florida Rural Broadband Alliance.
University of Florida Starting a Community Garden info page
New Leaf Market Co-op of Tallahassee, FL
Ever’man Cooperative of Pensacola, FL
Encourage local, organic farming DEO provided a technical assistance grant and develop a local co-op. Create a in fiscal year 2014-2015 to Leon County for community garden with space that is Local farming / Co- hosting a community engagement project rented out to community members. op spotlighting the economic development Provide an opportunity for middle and benefits of enhancing local food systems high school students to get involved. while at the same time furthering
community vitality, health and sustainability. The project included a “meeting kit” that other communities could use as a framework to host similar events, and included it in this Food for Us report.
Contact the Leon County Office of Sustainability for more information and to obtain the materials resulting from its Food
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for Us – We’re All at the Table Together summit.
Coordinate with the Hendry County 4-H Club.
Consider viability of a Department of State Historic Preservation Grant to restore the Clewiston Inn.
Rehabilitate and transform the
Clewiston Inn into a city center.
Establish the hotel as a main attraction Alissa Slade-Lotane and a core aspect of walking tours. Florida Dept. of State Restore the 1938 National Register Clewiston Inn / [email protected] listing of the historic Clewiston Inn, hotels using state historic preservation grants. Contact Ruben Acosta, Florida Increase the number of Dept. of State for more information accommodations by promoting the use on historical listings: 850.245.6364 of Airbnb, especially in the historic [email protected] district.
To learn more about resident-driven accommodations through a regulated, vacation-rental-by-owner situation in the downtown area, visit the Airbnb website.
Michael Zaharius 386.310.8781 Promote small business [email protected] development through a Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center comprehensive advertising campaign. Host entrepreneurship- Florida Gulf Coast University Small Entrepreneurship / focused events such as 1 Million Cups Business Development Council (SBDC) Small Business and Startup Weekend. Host a contact page Development Business Bootcamp for Southwest Florida and partner with Florida DEO microfinance programs for Southwestern State College to assist. entrepreneurs and small businesses Develop a business incubator. Consider contacting SCORE Central Florida for additional resources.
Provide incentives for developers to Consult DEO Economic Development invest in Hendry County, creating Incentives Portal for businesses and more jobs. Host a county-wide job fair. projects already established in target Jobs Increase jobs by promoting online industries and relying on incentives business development and franchise available through DEO. opportunities. Hendry County is located within the South Central Rural Area of Opportunity, a priority
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assignment for Rural and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) agencies.
Florida Heartland Economic Region of Opportunity can help navigate among the various workforce training, target industry, infrastructure and special opportunity incentives available.
Explore local government regulation and review of medical marijuana and look into the efforts of other local governments that have already begun addressing the passage of Amendment 2 (in November 2016, which inserted language to Florida’s Constitution allowing those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, Research the programs and services of the epilepsy and several other conditions Florida Department of Health’s Office of to use marijuana if it is recommended Compassionate Use, where several Implementation of by their doctor). Efforts range from frequently asked questions have already Amendment 2 North Miami Beach passing zoning been answered. laws that limit storefronts where marijuana products can be dispensed Visit United For Care for more information and purchased to Liberty County on public engagement. proposing to amend its land development code with similar provisions based on proximity to a residential district, church, school or public playground. Examine possible correlation between medical marijuana treatment and opioid addiction.
Extend hours of operation at the medical center to relieve emergency services. Survey and coordinate with Hendry Regional the community to understand and meet Hendry County Health Department Medical Center its needs for additional medical 863.674.4056 services. Examine the possibility of a marijuana dispensary at the Hendry Regional Medical Center.
Increase educational opportunities Contact COPE ESL in New York City for for Hispanic community members more information on how they have been Hispanic community by providing English as a Second providing free ESL classes for over 30 Language (ESL) classes and reducing years. or subsidizing tuition/fees for students.
In addition to the connections provided via this section, Competitive Florida invites the community to explore the event participants section for potential contacts related to the above ideas. 13
Event Participants
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Name Office or Department Contact info [email protected] Al Perry City of Clewiston 863.983.1484 Florida Department of Economic [email protected] Alicia Trawick Opportunity 850.717.8525 Florida Southwestern State [email protected] Amanda Lehrian College 863.674.0408 Hendry County Economic [email protected] Brent Kettler Development Council 863.675.6007 Florida League of Cities / Florida [email protected] Carol Westmoreland Redevelopment Association 850.222.9684 [email protected] Charles Chapman Hendry County Hendry County Commissioner, [email protected] Emma Byrd District 1 863.675.5220 Hendry County Grants & Special [email protected] Janet Papinaw Projects 863.675.5264 [email protected] John Szkolnik Recypoly Inc. 308.345.8301 Hendry County Commissioner, [email protected] Karson Turner District 5 / Quality Electric Co. 863.675.5217 Florida Department of [email protected] Keith Robbins Transportation 863.519.2913 LaBelle Downtown Revitalization [email protected] Kelly Boone Corporation 863.225.2749 United States Department of [email protected] Kenneth Esquilin Agriculture, Rural Development 863.420.4833 Central Florida Regional Planning [email protected] Leny Huaman Council 863.534.7130 (x109) [email protected] Lillie Rodriguez Airglades International Airport 863.675.1568 [email protected] Lincoln Price Collier County Hendry County, Community [email protected] Margaret Emblidge Development 863.675.5240 [email protected] Margaret England Hendry-Glades Audubon Society 863.517.0202 Florida Department of Economic [email protected] Mark Yelland Opportunity 850.717.8517 University of Florida, College of [email protected] Martha Kohen Construction, Design & Planning 352.294.1475 Hendry County Commissioner, [email protected] Michael Swindle District 4 / BOCC Chairman 863.983.1511
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Florida Virtual Entrepreneur [email protected] Michael Zaharios Center 386.310.8781 [email protected] Mike Harder River Bend Motorcoach Resort 866.787.4837 Florida Gulf Coast University, [email protected] Mike Jordan Small Business Development 239.745.3700 Council University of Florida, College of [email protected] Nancy Clark Construction, Design & Planning 352.294.1472 Southwest Florida Regional [email protected] Nichole Gwinnett Planning Council 239.938.1813 (x232) [email protected] R.D. Williams Hendry Regional Medical Center 863.902.3000 Apalachee Regional Planning [email protected] Richard Fetchick Council 850.488.6211 (x100) Florida Department of Economic [email protected] Scott Rogers Opportunity 850.717.8510 [email protected] Shari Howell City of Clewiston 863.983.1484 Florida Gulf Coast University, [email protected] Suzanne Specht Small Business Development 239.745.3700 Council United States Department of [email protected] Yashira Mendez Agriculture, Rural Development 561.792.2727 (x130)
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