BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — While the governor and Disney continue to Duke it out over the former Reedy Creek Development District, perhaps for years to come, Bradford’s affected district is looking to move on.
An unintended consequence of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move to dissolve Reedy Creek is that other special districts, including the Bradford County Development Authority would also be dissolved.
BCDA President Patricia Evans said even prior to the governor’s actions, the development authority was already considering how it could have a more effective and wider — more regional — impact on economic development without some of the restrictions of being a special district.
DeSantis just added a sense of urgency to their discussions. BCDA received a grant from the International Economic Development Corporation to study the existing structure of the authority, look at pros and cons, and suggest actions.
“After much review and consideration of the findings of this study, the current BCDA board voted to continue going through the dissolution process and reorganize as a regional economic development entity with a board comprised of a mix of public and private individuals,” Evans wrote in a letter to board members and other stakeholders. “The new entity will also be able to encourage and accept interested parties as paid ‘investors’ for a membership base. The new entity has the intentions of, in the future, being able to hire a paid economic development director.”
BCDA was scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon for informal discussions and a review of the draft bylaws for the regional development group.
Evans wrote: “This regional economic development group is not forming to compete with any existing economic development agencies or individuals. This group is forming to support and add value to our region that already has momentum growing as the value of our rural communities is recognized.”
