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Walton County EDA reports pipeline of leads; commissioners approve quarterly report and funding
Summary
The Walton County Economic Development Alliance presented a quarterly update on recruitment and business support; the commission approved the EDA quarterly report and continued funding after discussion of metrics and asset availability.
Uriah Matthews, executive director of the Walton County Economic Development Alliance, delivered the EDA’s quarterly report on Jan. 28, highlighting recruitment activity, site work and relationship building with state and regional partners. Matthews said the EDA worked 11 potential projects in the quarter: two showed measurable progress (one closed a land transaction and another entered lease negotiations) and several others remain in early-stage site selection. He said projects typically take about three years from initial contact to opening: “Projects typically take around 3 years to complete to fruition, from initial conversations, to land acquisitions, to finding the right site, etcetera.” The EDA reported work on positioning Walton County for defense-related supply-chain opportunities, a gateway-community application for state trail promotion in Defuniak Springs, outreach to site selectors and an investor-led Business Leadership Council effort to market local agritourism sites. Matthews said the EDA is facilitating a no-cost Small Business Development Center partnership and hosting SBDC outreach sessions. Commissioners asked for clarity about immediate jobs and what the county is “selling” to prospects. Matthews said Walton lacks large publicly marketed industrial assets today and is working with private landowners (including a Freeport park of nearly 600 acres) and county partners to build a marketable inventory. After public comment and brief board discussion, the commission voted to approve the EDA’s quarterly report and continue the scheduled quarterly funding allocation. Commissioners and public commenters asked the EDA to focus on clearly communicating development stage and to pursue assets that allow the county to market properties to prospective employers. Ending: Commissioners directed staff to bring back additional materials on targeted assets and any proposed sales or leases when negotiations advance; the EDA said it will continue recruitment and partnership efforts.
