Sylva approves Economic Development Advisory Committee
Last week, the Sylva Town Board approved rules and procedures for the new Economic Development Advisory Committee, an advisory committee to the Economic Development Director and to the Sylva Town Board of Commissioners.
“We’ve got a great number of successful business owners here that are really what make our town,” Mayor Johnny Phillips has said. “I just think this is a way to give folks a voice. I think they can be a help to us.”
Phillips originally proposed the committee — a five-member board made up of business owners who do not live in the Town of Sylva, who own a business in Sylva not within the Main street corridor — bringing the idea to the table at the June 13 meeting.
“It gives business owners that do not live in the city limits a way to have a voice with our town in a way that isn’t just paying taxes,” Phillips said at the time.
The rules and procedures set out for the Economic Development Advisory Committee say that it exists to promote, retain and enhance economic development throughout the Town of Sylva. The committee’s mission is to grow the town’s tax base by attracting and retaining quality jobs, soliciting new business and development compatible with the assets and values of Sylva, promoting Sylva’s business image, assisting in the expansion of existing companies and enhancing Sylva’s overall quality of life.
Its duties will include identifying and assessing business development opportunities and recommending policy positions on economic development matters to the Town of Sylva Economic Development Director and the town board.
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In the fiscal year 2023-24 budget, Sylva commissioners approved a one-cent tax increase to pay for a full-time economic development director position. This transitioned the Main Street Sylva Association director from part-time to full-time, with expanded responsibilities, and was one of the board’s top budget priorities.
Other responsibilities of the committee will include prioritizing business development needs and projects according to Town of Sylva priorities, conducting research and providing input on business development program policy decisions and considering ongoing economic development initiatives in progress by partners such as Jackson County Economic Development, Southwestern Commission, Mountain West Partnership and local Small Business Centers.
Each of the five members of the committee will be appointed by the Sylva Town Board, and the committee members will select their own chairman and vice-chairman. The chairman will preside at all meetings and hearings of the committee and the Town of Sylva Economic Development Director will serve as staff to the committee, responsible for sending meeting notices and reporting minutes.
Of those original five appointed for the committee, three, including the chairman and vice chairman, will be appointed for three-year terms. The other two members will be appointed for a one-year term so that moving forward, committee members will have staggered terms.
In addition to the five voting members of the committee, there will be two non-voting members, a regional economic development appointee and a small business center appointee.
During the Aug. 8 meeting when the board was asked to approve the rules and procedures, Board Member Mary Gelbaugh asked the mayor to provide an example of what the Economic Development Advisory Committee might be voting on.
“They have only recommending authority to this board and they would have to agree on what they want to make as a recommendation do us,” Phillips said. “For example, the committee might review some ordinance we have that might hinder development, or that might make development worse or easier. They may want to make a recommendation to the board that we consider reviewing this ordinance, for this particular reason — business-minded people that would look for things like that to bring to us.”
Gelbaugh expressed concern that there may be some overlap between responsibilities of the planning board and the Economic Development Advisory Committee because the planning board is tasked with similar responsibilities and makes recommendations to the Sylva Town Board.
While Phillips notes that overlap was possible, he said that “there’s nobody on the planning board looking for things that are hindering development.”
The board unanimously approved the rules and procedures for the new town committee.
