Jay seeking town input

Sessions for economic growth

The Town of Jay is hosting an Economic Development Open House on Monday, Jan. 28, at the Linda Carden Community Center. There will be three sessions scheduled, with the morning session from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., the lunch session form 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the afternoon session from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

This is a chance for Jay area residents to stop by and meet local business leaders and elected officials, sharing ideas and input to plan the economic future of the town.

“Competitive Florida Partnership offers an economic development grant from the state of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO),” said Jay Operations Manager Eric Seib. “We applied for it and got it. They look at smaller communities they can come in and help. The DEO comes in and partners with a municipality to help improve economic development.”

The town is required to hold three public meeting to get an idea of how to spend the money. The first meeting is Jan. 28, with two subsequent meetings, which will more specifically to address the project or projects, which must be finished by June 30, 2019.

“The $17,500 grant won't build a new building or put in roads, but it will help the community with planning and promotion, potentially drawing new business or corporations,” said Seib. “The money will help with what's around, and help decide how we can best use the money to support the business owners in Jay. It is money we can use to pay someone to do something. What do we want, what does the town want? It will promote community conversations, then a project action plan.”