The Apalachee Regional Planning Council, in partnership with the City of Midway, introduced the first draft of the city’s Economic Development Plan on Monday, August 10.
The plan outlines the strategic steps that the city will take in Midway’s pathway of developing community facilities, such as improving and expanding current public infrastructure and improving affordable housing.
The plan was introduced during the Midway City Council’s regular monthly meeting on Thursday, August 6. The presentation to the city was intended to update the public on Midway’s participation in the Competitive Florida Partnership Program. Strategies and actions for the city’s economic development goals were outlined in the plan, including funding opportunities and methods of approaching various projects.
Additional aspects of the plan presented included background research on the City of Midway with a community profile, an overview of community engagement activities, sections on disaster resiliency and details as to how plan implementation will be monitored and evaluated.
The Apalachee Regional Planning Council is in the process of officially closing out the competitive Florida Partnership Grant awarded by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
COVID-19 challenges resulted in delays and limitations on group gatherings where program activities may continue for several months after the grant closeout to ensure that the final plan meets the City of Midway’s needs. The continuation of project activities will be at no additional cost to the city.
The plan was presented in draft form, and was based on input from two prior community workshops and one virtual asset mapping exercise. The draft plan is now open for review and comment by city staff, council members, community residents and other stakeholders.
City Manager Linda Dilworth said the City Council’s recent action now adopts a blueprint for achieving Midway’s economic development goals. It is the goal of the council to keep the Midway community aware of exactly what steps the planning council and city are taking to yield tangible results in the coming months; it is also the plan of the two groups to include citizen participation in every step of the way.
All feedback will be incorporated into the final plan, which will be presented for approval at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Midway City Council on Thursday, September 3.
Special To The Herald