Resident Meeting To Provide Input For Century Economic Development Plan

January 20, 2014

Century is turning to its residents for input into the town’s future economic development plan.

Town residents are invited to a meeting Tuesday night at 6:00 at the Ag Building on West Highway 4 to offer their input into the plan.

When Century updated its Comprehensive Plan in March 2012, the need for an economic development strategy was identified as one of the critical issues facing the Town.

Last July, Century was awarded a $25,000 a Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The grant provided the Town the opportunity to contract with the University of West Florida’s Haas Center to develop the plan.

One of the main components for developing the plan is to solicit public input. The Haas Center recommended hosting several focus group meetings to include Century business owners, residents,  and regional economic development organizations to solicit input into the creation of the plan. The first meeting  on January 13 was geared toward local businesses, and was designed to identify local   economic issues and opportunities, providing a “wish list” of priorities for the Town of  Century and Haas Center staff to incorporate into the final strategic plan.

A final meeting will be held on January 27 for regional economic development organizations.

Century’s Economic Development Strategic and Implementation Plan must be submitted to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity by May 30.

Pictured top: Rod Lewes of the Haas Center (the research and consulting arm of the University of West Florida) makes a presentation last September to the Century Town Council. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Archive