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NSBNEWS.net photo by Henry Frederick.
Mayor Adam Barringer, second from right is joined, from left to right, by Jill Carlton, Jack Holcomb, and Paul Mayer, at Tuesday's inaugural meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Board. Not pictured are fellow board members Randy McHenry, Dr. Arlen Stauffer and Bill Hall.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- When Adam Barringer campaigned for mayor last year, he promised to deliver an economic development plan for the city within 100 days of being sworn in. He kept that promise. On Tuesday night, he sat with the city's new Economic Development Advisory Board to begin the arduous task of developing strategies to carry out that plan.
The advisory board has some prominent business and community leaders such as Jack Holcomb, owner of New Smyrna Beach Chevrolet and Dr. Arlen Stauffer with Bert Fish Medical Center.
"This is my home," Stauffer said. I'm a northerner from Ohio who came dow here 30 years ago. I see the hospital and the airport as big players. If we haven't progressed in the last 10 years, let's progress in the next 10 years."
The top goal of the board is to assess the current image of the city, promote a business-friendly city to current and future developers landowners and the business community and to review current governing documents to ensure support of responsible economic development.
Holcomb and Stauffer are joined by fellow New Smyrna Beach residents Jill Carlton, Paul Mayer and Rany McHenry. Bill Hall, vice chairman of the Utilities Commission is representing his commission as a non-voting member of the board and Barringer is the city's representative.
Tuesday night's meeting at the Coronado Civic Center was a introductory meeting to go over general guidelines and procedures.
The board members were selected unanimously by the City Commission to serve a four-year term. All meetings are required to be held in the Sunshine.