- March 8, 2025
Residents are not satisfied with economic development in Flagler County, and they see diversifying the county's businesses as the top way to improve, according to survey results.
The Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates commissioned the five-question survey, which asked 262 residents, professionals and government officials about their perception of economic development in the area. Only by measuring the current state of development can the chamber aggressively pursue increasing development, said Scott Sowers, chairman of the chamber, during a Monday meeting of the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners.
Starting in October 2011, 262 people were surveyed. Sowers, along with Garry Lubi, past chairman of the board, and Howard Holley, who sits on the board, presented the findings of the survey before the County Commission on Monday.
The results were largely unified, with only slight discrepancies in opinion among residents, government officials and professionals, Holley said. He and others in charge of the survey had expected greater disparity, he said.
“Let’s accept what’s here as a baseline and then ask what we have to do to continue to see improvement,” Holley said.
When asked which areas of economic development are most important, the top answer was lowering unemployment, followed by increasing career opportunities, lowering taxes and improving the performance of already-existing businesses.
Along the same lines, the highest concern for residents, government officials and professionals alike was bringing in new industries to complement Flagler County’s traditionally construction-based economy.
“We’re seeing a very, very clear message evolve around diversification and around the types of businesses that we’re bringing in,” Holley said. “The lack of diversified employment opportunities is very high, and that was the No. 1 concern for residents and, interestingly, the No. 2 concern for businesses.”
When asked if they were satisfied with economic development in Flagler County, 70% of respondents said they were not, 19% said they were, and the remaining 11% had no opinion.
County Commissioner Barbara Revels pointed out that when asked about the most concerning barrier to economic development, “lack of unity” and “too much government involvement” were more popular responses among government officials than anyone else.
“It’s very important to show … that really, the residents don’t feel that way, but the government does feel that way,” Revels said.
Holley recommended that a similar survey be conducted in about six months. The results show more where the county was a year ago, and the only way to see if economic development efforts are working is to measure them, he said.
Jack Carroll, a Palm Coast resident, was not sold on the idea.
“All I hear is nothing but talk, talk, talk,” he said during public comment. “You can send out 1,000 of those surveys, but if you don’t do anything, it doesn’t matter.”
Commissioners and chamber staff both said an important place to improve is in promotions.
“I’d like to see us be a little more aggressive in promoting our success,” County Commissioner Frank Meeker said. “Because we do have successes, and people need to know about them.”
