Held at the Gadsden Arts Center in Quincy, the meeting brought more than three dozen officials from across the Big Bend together to discuss transportation concerns as the area develops.

Because the Big Bend has not developed at the "breakneck" pace that other areas in the state have, Matt Doster, executive director for Our Region Tomorrow, said this region has an opportunity to address transportation — and other growth concerns — in a deliberate and well-developed manner.

Tallahassee Mayor John Marks told officials from Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla and Jefferson counties that transportation is an issue where "tremendous inroads" have been made; however, discussion about the issue needed to shift from moving vehicles and trucks to moving people. 

Harry Reed, executive director of the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency, said some of the transportation problems are because local transportation concerns are not considered when state and federal long-range plans are being developed.

Within the next month Reed said a study will be commissioned where the CRTPA will be able to see what deficiencies are in current transportation planning, by transportation type. This study will provide Reed's organization, and those in the regional partnership, additional information about the region's transportation future.

"We haven't looked at how the local network is designed so we can look at capacity," Reed said. "We're really focused on the commercial aspect and goods moving through here because that has a long-term impact as well."

The areas that will experience the most growth will be those with fewer congestion concerns, Reed said, noting that Gadsden County is in a prime position to take advantage because a major rail line, U.S. Highway 90 and the Interstate all run through the county.

Democrat Business Editor

Members of the Big Bend Regional Partnership signed an interlocal agreement today at the Annual Chamber Community Conference, enacting a regional plan that formalizes the current practice of responding to fire and emergency events.

The partnership, which got its official start in 2007 at the Chamber Community Conference, has explored a range of issues that officials believe can be addressed on a regional basis. Tallahassee Mayor John Marks told the gathering that fire and emergency services posed a particular challenge.

“We also understood that there was a need to look at fire services in this region because some of our outlying communities did not have the level of fire services and emergency management services that they thought they should have," he explained.

Through the partnership approach, chiefs from the various fire departments and the emergency medical personnel met, began a dialogue, and resolved the issues that they faced.

"I think that is a significant step forward," he added.

Signers included the cities of Tallahassee, Quincy, Gretna and Midway, along with county representatives from Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla. Marks said Jefferson County intends to sign the agreement shortly.

The pact links the participating communities through a mutual aid arrangement. In the event that a fire department needs the assistance of another service, the plan also spells out how smaller, volunteer departments and others with limited funds can obtain that help without the risk of not being able to cover the added expense, Marks said. 

By Dave Hodges

DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR

Tallahassee area business and civic leaders will converge on Amelia Island Plantation this weekend for the annual Chamber Community Conference and a series of sessions on how companies can survive a shaky economy.

"The greatest, principal difference this year is that everybody is aware, painfully so, that we're in a very difficult economy," said Ron Sachs, chairman of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.

"That makes this conference all the more important — and in fact the theme of this conference is not just surviving, but seeking to thrive even in a tough economy," he added.

Chamber officials hope the conference provides the right mix of recreation, business strategy sessions and networking so that attendees get ideas, make contacts and gain a better grasp of community issues.

The opening session Saturday will begin with remarks by Sachs; former Leon County commissioner and now political consultant Gary Yordon and Jerry Karnas, director of the Florida Climate Project for the Environmental Defense Fund, presenting sponsor for the conference.

The keynote address will be by Tony Villamil, CEO of The Washington Economics Group. Villamil is former U.S. undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs and a member of the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. He served on former Gov. Jeb Bush's executive staff and is currently a board member of Enterprise Florida.

"The Tallahassee region is still doing better than the rest of the state," he said. Parts of South Florida, such as Collier and Charlotte counties, are still struggling "and a lot of that is real estate driven," he added. "That is the epicenter of the economic downtown."

Florida communities in general depend on the health of financial markets, the conditions affecting global economic activity and local business climate issues.

"I am going to be touching on all three of those macro-economic factors," Villamil said.

Leon County has the advantage of a relatively stable employment market. The June unemployment rate was 4.4 percent. Villamil also noted that taxable sales of construction-related materials — an indicator of the building industry's health — are doing well.

"It's not way, way down like in other areas," he said. The May figure was up 10.1 percent over the same month a year ago.

Economic development officials, however, want to look beyond construction, tourism and agriculture to an economy based on technology and innovation.

The session following Villamil is entitled "Our Innovation Economy" and features panelists from the public and private sectors. Panelist John Fraser, executive director of the FSU Office of Research, will address intellectual property development and efforts to commercialize the results of university research.

As new ideas generate products and services for new markets, the result will be local enterprises and jobs.

"We are looking at all sorts of interesting places on campus, not just science and engineering," Fraser said.

Also planned is an update on Our Region Tomorrow, part of an initiative from the 2007 Community Conference aimed at addressing issues affecting the Big Bend. Speakers include Our Region Tomorrow Executive Director Matt Doster and Big Bend Regional Health Information Organization Executive Director Allen Byington.

Other sessions include "Green Business Solutions," led by Sustainable Florida Vice President Tim Center. Tallahassee Democrat Executive Editor Bob Gabordi and Digital Communities Editor Julia Thompson will lead a session on the latest digital networking techniques.

"This conference provides an opportunity to share information that will help member businesses, but also to hear back from them," Sachs said, "what we can do to help them even better in the years ahead."