Board presses to revive SEDS review, highlights outreach and schedules scholarship review

At its regular meeting the Edgewater Economic Development Board sought to resume systematic review of the city's SEDS document and discussed public-education workshops and outreach steps as the planning team finishes consultant updates.

Miss Jamieson said the board should slot 20–30 minutes at future meetings to work through the SEDS in bite-size sections. Ryan, a planning staffer, said Kimley Horn is finishing updates and staff expected deliverables around the end of March or early April.

Members reviewed outreach methods for the public workshops tied to the plan: staff used utility-bill inserts, banners on Ridgewood and multiple session times (weekday evening and Saturday morning with childcare and food) but attendance was mixed. "There was a good mix of people,'" one board member said of a recent workshop that drew roughly 40–50 attendees; others said social-media critics were loudest even when workshop turnout was low.

On scholarship business, the board agreed applications (deadline March 7) will be reviewed in a private meeting to avoid disclosing student information in public session. The review meeting was set for March 25 at 9:00 a.m. at Daytona State New Smyrna; Ryan or Tammy will circulate a Dropbox package of applications a few days before the meeting.

Why it matters: The SEDS update and public workshops feed official comprehensive-plan elements and zoning policy; the board emphasized steady review and better public education to reduce misunderstandings. Keeping scholarship deliberations private follows confidentiality norms for personal student information.

What happens next: Staff will circulate consultant deliverables when available; the board will add recurring SEDS review time to future agendas and meet privately March 25 to evaluate scholarship applicants.