Hardee County hears IDA overhaul, funding and project update; commissioners press for transparency

Denise Grimsley, who leads the Development Group (the Economic Development Council that manages the Hardee County Industrial Development Authority), and county staff briefed the Hardee County Board of County Commissioners at a Feb. 27 workshop on the IDA’s recent reorganization, contract changes, grant awards and property holdings tied to local development agreements with Mosaic.

The presentation came after County Attorney Sarah Johnston reviewed the county’s legal limits and the role of development agreements under state law, and commissioners used the workshop to press the IDA for clearer monthly reporting and to ask whether mitigation payments from Mosaic should pass through the county clerk’s office.

The IDA and the Development Group said their work affects housing, infrastructure and job recruitment. Grimsley told the board the IDA has updated contracting and financial practices, is pursuing tax‑exempt bonding options under the Florida Industrial Development Financing Act (Chapter 159), and has secured multiple state grants since 2022 to support a manufacturing project, a downtown incubator and broadband and parking investments.

At the start of the workshop County Attorney Sarah Johnston summarized legal constraints for non‑charter counties, noting that Hardee County derives its authority from general law (chapter 125) and that local governments may use development agreements to provide assurances to a developer but must show a “paramount public purpose” for pledging public credit. Johnston also briefed commissioners on the legal framework for Industrial Development Authorities under Chapter 159 of the Florida Statutes.

Grimsley said the IDA has been reorganizing since she became its leader in July 2022, implementing new standard leases and tightened financial oversight. She said the IDA has not historically used tax‑exempt industrial revenue bonds but is now exploring bonding as a financing tool and discussed a three‑year turnaround plan the IDA board approved in 2022.

Key numbers and agreements - Grimsley and IDA operations director Sarah Evers described multiple local development agreements (LDAs) negotiated with Mosaic dating to 2008 and amended over time. Evers said the South Fort Meade Mine LDA (approved 02/2008) provides a total of $50,386,735, of which $6,000,000 was allocated to the Board of County Commissioners. The most recent Eastern Extension LDA (approved 2023) provides $8,000,000; Evers said $800,000 of that was allocated to the county for water and sewer infrastructure along Bostick Road and $150,000 to pay for a Hazen and Sawyer study, and Mosaic conveyed an 81‑acre parcel for housing. - Evers said the Ona Mine agreement (referred to in the meeting as the only agreement still producing recurring payments) provides $2,000,000 per year. Grimsley said many earlier LDA mitigation payments have already been spent and that most prior LDA dollars were routed directly to the IDA per the agreements’ terms. She noted the Eastern Extension payment structure differs: the payment to the county will be administered through an interlocal agreement.

Grant funding and projects - Grimsley said the Development Group/IDA has secured approximately $12.7 million in grant funding since 2022, which she itemized as including a $6.0 million award tied to a surgical glove manufacturing project, $4.0 million for a downtown multipurpose business incubator, $1.4 million for a parking project behind Java Cafe (the Gardens at Midtown site) and roughly $391,000 for digital connectivity linking Main Street to the fairgrounds. She said the glove project is contractually required to include $10 million in private investment and that the IDA expects a lease‑purchase agreement for that project to be considered by the IDA board on March 13. - The Aloha Medical Transport project, Grimsley said, began in early 2024, was delayed by a hurricane and is on schedule to receive its certificate of occupancy the week after the workshop; the IDA reported that project will come in under budget.

Property holdings and recent transactions - Grimsley said the IDA currently owns 42 properties comprising about 60 parcels, most concentrated in the Hardee County Business Park (the Commerce Park). She said the IDA’s property management and sales have contributed tax payments to the county: since 2013 the IDA has contributed roughly $2.1 million in property taxes and, in the past year, IDA‑affiliated businesses paid about $139,000 in property taxes and $162,000 in tangible personal property taxes. - Examples discussed in detail: - Honey Bear Bake Company (126 W. Main St.): the IDA invested $500,000 in renovations and on July 13, 2023 executed a triple‑net lease with the tenant at $2,317 per month, Grimsley and Evers said. At the current rent, Evers estimated the IDA would take about 17 years to recoup that investment. Evers said the lease transfers operating costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance) to the tenant. - Gardens at Midtown (113 N. 7th Ave.): Evers said the IDA acquired parcels to create parking behind Java Cafe and secured a $1.4 million rural infrastructure grant for that parking. Evers said the IDA’s net investment in the parcel was about $83,500 after transactions. - Riveter building/block (built 1924): purchased in 2020 for about $900,000, with total IDA investment on four buildings on the block of about $2.4 million. Evers said the building has experienced tenant and operational challenges, including a Chapter 11 filing by the tenant’s CEO; the IDA said the building is in the final repair stages and that it would be a candidate for the $4 million incubator grant.

Contract changes and oversight - Grimsley described a new standard IDA contract for tenants that includes triple‑net lease terms, annual lease escalators to account for inflation, quarterly financial and job‑verification reporting, a purchase option priced at the appraised value or the IDA’s investment (whichever is greater), and “personal guarantee” language for certain deals. She explicitly contrasted these terms with earlier contracts she called overly favorable to tenants, citing one prior example where a guaranteed purchase price ($1,550,000) was substantially below a more recent appraisal ($3,550,000). - On job‑creation credits tied to lease payments, Evers said credits are calculated only if and when a tenant exercises a purchase option. Under the contracts described at the meeting, credits would be applied on a sliding scale (Evers said the board’s current sliding scale provides 50% credit for achieving 12 jobs, 75% for 18 jobs and 100% for 24 or more) and would not allow a credit that exceeds the purchase price or appraisal amount.

Commissioners’ questions and public concerns - Commissioners repeatedly asked for clearer, routine reporting to the Board of County Commissioners and for assurance that agreements and grants are administered with public transparency. Commissioner Flores and Commissioner Chancey (identified in the meeting by those titles) asked whether mitigation checks from Mosaic should be routed to the county clerk’s office first; IDA staff responded that most historical LDAs expressly directed payment to the IDA and that changing that routing would require modifying the LDAs’ terms. - Commissioners pressed staff for details on allocations of the Eastern Extension $8 million; Evers said of the funds already received (about $5.2 million after retention of $800,000 by the county for water/sewer) the IDA has budgeted roughly $1 million for a multi‑purpose facility (possibly to finish and repurpose the Riveter site), $1 million for Gardens at Midtown, and about $3.18 million for a housing program (land acquisition, lift stations, water/sewer extension and related costs). Evers said no housing reimbursements had been paid out yet beyond one earlier approved but unsigned $200,000 award. - Several commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about the IDA holding multiple downtown properties and whether the IDA’s ability to purchase and later lease or sell property competes with local private developers. Local business owners and developers who spoke (including developers who said they are actively working with IDA staff) defended the IDA’s purchases as necessary interventions to address blight and to make sites shovel‑ready for recruitment and housing. - Public commenters and at least one commissioner asked for a breakdown of recent communications and marketing spending and for more frequent public reporting on IDA finances and contracts; Grimsley said the IDA would provide additional monthly reporting to Commissioner Miller and offered to present budgets and updates to the BOCC on request.

Procurement and construction management - Evers described the IDA’s construction procurement practice: the IDA uses three continuing services construction management firms selected through a competitive process; the construction managers do not self‑perform and competitively bid subcontract components (electrical, plumbing, etc.) on each project, Evers said.

What changed and next steps - Grimsley emphasized a shift in IDA practice since 2022 toward stronger financial protections for public investments, a focus on marketing shovel‑ready industrial property, and building partnerships with state agencies, Florida Gulf Coast University and South Florida State College to develop workforce micro‑credentials and an incubator downtown. - The IDA expects to present a final lease‑purchase agreement for the surgical glove manufacturer to the IDA board at its March 13 meeting and agreed to more frequent reporting to the county on LDA receipts, grants and budgets. Commissioners asked for the county clerk to be the default recipient of mitigation checks arising from LDAs where the agreement allows it, and for staff to return with options if the board wants to alter payment routing for future agreements.

Closing - Commissioners and IDA staff agreed to continue the conversation, and the board paused the workshop for a break and then resumed public comment. Residents who spoke at the meeting expressed both support for IDA interventions that have reopened downtown property and concern about perceived preferential deals; IDA staff and several commissioners urged residents to request records or to review public reports and to take part in ongoing community planning efforts.

"The board at the time in the agreement provided that those economic stimulus payments go to the IDA," County Attorney Sarah Johnston said when commissioners asked about payment routing. "That's why they don't come through the county," she added, noting that the most recent agreement provides for county administration of the funds because of how that LDA was written.

"Hardee County is the best place to live, work, and raise a family," Denise Grimsley said near the end of her presentation. "We believe we'll have a full turnaround of this organization by 2027."