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Flagler County IDA board revises application to add financial details, approves brochure edits and readies first TEFRA hearing
Summary
At its May 19 meeting the Flagler County Industrial Development Authority voted to revise its IDA application to add explicit fields for amount requested and repayment/method-of-sale details, approved edits to a draft brochure (removing the term “headquarter” for IRS compliance), discussed marketing and fee language, and set a tentative TEFRA/public-hearing schedule for the Steel Will project.
The Flagler County Industrial Development Authority on May 19 voted to revise its IDA application to add specific financial fields and approved edits to a draft brochure, actions the board and staff said are intended to improve IRS compliance and clarity for applicants.
Staff proposed adding two specific entries to the application: an explicit field for the amount requested and a description of the method of sale and repayment plan so reviewers could better match application details to IRS questions. As Staff member put it during the meeting, "On page 5 here on the, application, we needed to add 2 more, 2 more points based on the review of the first application and some of the IRS notes." The board adopted the change by motion.
The board also reviewed a second draft of an IDA brochure and agreed to remove the word "headquarter," which staff said could conflict with IRS rules about what may qualify as headquarters for tax-exempt bond purposes. The review included discussion of brochure wording (for example, replacing "restaurant/lodging facilities" with "lodging facilities and related services" to reduce ambiguity) and how aggressively to advertise the IDA's competitive fee schedule.
One board member noted past fee decisions and suggested promotional language to attract applicants, saying, "I think we did an application fee of 1000 dollars." Members discussed placing comparative claims on a website (easier to revise) versus printed brochures, and asked staff to coordinate any advertising language with county legal counsel to ensure compliance with IRS and state requirements.
Board members and staff also updated the board on the pipeline. Staff said the first applicant, a project labeled "Steel Will," is finalizing documents ahead of a TEFRA/public hearing and that the inducement resolution amounts (about $9,000,000, as discussed in the meeting record) were incorporated into the application. Staff described plans for the board and the applicant to be present at the county commission hearing when the TEFRA notice is published.
The meeting resolved several procedural items: the board approved April 21 meeting minutes with two additions requested for the record (detailed fee-schedule language and a brief summary and amount for the Steel Will resolution), set a tentative next meeting for June 23 at 1 p.m. pending room availability, and opened a 30-minute community outreach period during which no members of the public spoke. The meeting adjourned following a motion to close.
Why it matters: IDA application forms and promotional materials shape how local economic development incentives are offered and advertised; the added application fields and the legal review steps are intended to reduce downstream compliance questions when tax-exempt revenue bonds or related incentives are considered. The board said it expects to present the Steel Will TEFRA item to the county commission once public notice and required materials are finalized.
Votes at a glance - Motion to approve April 21 minutes with two additions (fee-schedule clarification and Steel Will resolution summary): approved (one abstention recorded). (SEG 026–089) - Motion to revise the IDA application to add amount requested and method-of-sale/repayment-plan fields: approved. (SEG 110–169) - Motion to adjourn: approved. (SEG 580–589)
