Putnam County economic development, tourism offices report job leads and strong visitor figures

Putnam County economic development and tourism officials told the Board of County Commissioners they are pursuing dozens of business leads and promoting travel demand that officials say produced measurable local tax relief.

Mark Linton, vice president of economic development, told commissioners his office is “currently working with 18 clients interested in either attraction, relocation, or expanding existing operations here in Putnam County.” He said five of those leads came through partner economic development organizations, 10 were organic inquiries to the office, and three were local industries considering expansion. Linton said the prospective projects represent “4,045 new jobs” if all come to fruition and noted “over 2.3” in capital investment to the county (the transcript cut off the unit for that figure).

The report highlighted partnerships that county staff and the Putnam County Economic Development Council maintain with state and regional organizations, including Florida Commerce, JAXUSA, North Florida Economic Development Partnership and others. Linton said the county hosted the NFEDP board meeting in February and presented at the I-10 regional state-of-the-region event in Jacksonville.

Kimberly Morgan, vice president of tourism for the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, gave data on visitor impacts and lodging. Morgan said 2022 tourism activity translated into roughly "$370.18 in tax savings for Putnam County households"—a figure she described as the additional tax each household would have had to pay to maintain existing service levels if tourism dollars disappeared. For 2024 lodging, Morgan reported an annual hotel occupancy rate of 74.7 percent and an average daily rate of $125.66, figures she said make Putnam County competitive with neighboring counties and attractive to hotel developers.

Both presenters described ongoing work to support workforce development, infrastructure conversations with the city of Palatka on extending water and sewer to areas outside city limits, and outreach to recruit resort and tourism projects in South Putnam. Linton said a significant resort project is under support but is not the long-rumored project residents have discussed for years. Morgan described plans to build a visitor research profile over the next year and run multiple “town hall listening tours” with local tourism operators.

Commissioners pressed for clarity about prior speculative leads at the county business park and emphasized the county’s limited local funding for large infrastructure projects. Commissioner Larry Harvey noted public-safety and other budget priorities constrain the county’s ability to make large up-front infrastructure investments and recommended pursuing state and federal grants as a practical path forward. Chair Leota Wilkinson and other commissioners said continued cooperation with the city of Palatka will be necessary to expand utility service and support industrial recruitment.

The presentations concluded with a pledge to increase public promotion of the county’s job-growth ranking. Linton cited a county ranking—produced by a scorecard he said was from Florida Commerce and the Florida Chamber of Commerce—showing Putnam County as the top county for job growth in 2024, with a 2.4 percent increase in primary jobs.

Looking ahead, staff said they will circulate the economic development presentation materials online and continue coordination with local education and workforce partners, and that tourism leaders will publish more detailed visitor research and a consolidated community events calendar.