The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have reestablished an Economic Development Commission. The action was a requirement for federal funding but it also was something the commissioners wanted to do to show their commitment to economic development.
The Economic Development Commission was established in 1989 and in 2003 became just an advisory board to the county’s Economic and Community Development Department. That advisory committee was allowed to lapse.
In a discussion before the vote, County Attorney George Sparling told the commissioners that they were voting on was not just a task force but a full-fledged policy committee. “It is designed to be a formal arm of county government,” he said, adding “it will be the economic body for the county.” He said its powers would be analogous to the planning commission.
Acting Director of Economic and Community Development Robin Finnacom said federal regulations enumerate the types of people who will serve on such a body, including representatives of government, business, labor and the community. Commissioner Daniel Morris (R: 2nd) noted that a representative of public safety was not one of the enumerated categories, and he suggested they should be. Sparling said it was up to the commissioners to decide who to appoint.
The county budgeted $25,000 this year as a match for federal funding to do an economic development study. The feds instead kicked in $49,000 and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic development provided an additional $25,000 to match the county contribution.
Finnacom said her office is currently soliciting proposals from members of the University of Maryland system to do the study. She said it would involve a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) but she hoped it would go much farther, to include specific recommendations.
Areas to be analyzed include the county’s potential for being a center for unmanned aircraft, as well as tourism and agriculture, and the retail and service sector. “We don’t need to pay for someone to tell us we need to be serious about diversifying the economy,” she said, noting that has been talked about for a long time and everyone knows it.
Commissioner President Francis “Jack” Russell said the creation of the commission would provide another level of transparency for county government. “It lets the community do much of the work for us,” he said.
County Administrator Rebecca Bridgett said the county would be sending out a notice requesting applications from anyone interested in serving of the new Economic Development Commission.
