Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cocoa approves changes to UpStart COCO small-business program; Chamber executive urges delay over conflict concerns
Summary
City Council unanimously approved amendments to the UpStart COCO minority and small-business program — changing eligibility, shortening reapply windows and adding pre-application counseling — after public comment from the Space Coast Black Chamber president asking the council to pause and investigate alleged conflicts.
The Cocoa City Council voted unanimously Jan. 14 to approve amendments to the UpStart COCO minority and small-business program designed to broaden eligibility and provide applicants with more technical assistance.
Staff presented a set of adjustments the council adopted: expand eligibility from “brand new” businesses to businesses less than three years old (and less than five years old specifically for Diamond Square businesses, where commercial spaces are scarce); allow businesses to reapply after six months instead of one year; remove the formal business-plan submission and replace it with application questions that feed into coaching through WeVenture and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC); and add one-year memberships in multiple regional chambers as eligible expenses (Space Coast Black Chamber and Hispanic Chamber in addition to the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber). Staff also corrected a budget-rollover figure for the program to $32,500.
Victoria Jones — who identified herself to the council both as the city’s Commercial and Economic Development Director and as president and CEO of the Space Coast Black Chamber of Commerce — urged the council to table the amendments and hold a public forum to address “conflict of interest” concerns she said she had raised to the council by email in December. Jones said her public-records review produced material that should be aired before program changes are adopted. “As a resident, I believe that informed decision making by our council members is essential to the success of this program,” she told the council.
Staff described operational changes to make the program more useful. The SBDC at Eastern Florida State College would meet with applicants before committee review to help them prepare; WeVenture would continue to provide training and business-plan coaching. Staff also said four applicants are currently in the WeVenture pipeline and that remaining funds from prior years are available via the requested $32,500 budget rollover.
After public comment and brief council discussion, the council approved the resolution amending the program and the corrected budget rollover. The vote was unanimous.
Ending — next steps: Staff will implement the amended eligibility and application procedures, add SBDC pre-application assistance as a prerequisite, and process the $32,500 budget rollover to fund applicants in the pipeline. The chamber president’s complaint and request for a special meeting were recorded in the public record; council members said they received the email and would not preclude further review if additional material is submitted.
