Pete Tesch of the Economic Development Council of Saint Lucie County Discusses Senior Benefits of EDC

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Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Council of Saint Lucie County (EDCSLC) explains how economic development can be especially beneficial for seniors and those who are contemplating moving to The Treasure Coast.

Booming Saint Lucie County owes much of its economic success to the EDCSLC and seniors, in particular, have benefited with more medical facility, a world class hospital, and equally world class physicians. 

Since the funding for the EDCSLC is approved by a public vote, it is critical for everyone to know how the EDCSLC works and what kind of return voters get for their tax dollars spent to build up the local economy. It's a textbook explanation (that is not in textbooks, by the way) of how ordinary citizens benefit when an entire community is dedicated to improving the local economy, building the educational infrastructure and lays the foundation for a promising future. 

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Episode Transcript

Sam Yates (00:10):
Hello everyone and welcome to another session of
the Great American senior Show.
I'm Sam Yates your gray hairedhost for the program today and
we are actually on location inSt. Lucie county in the heart of
the Treasure Coast. And I have aspecial guest. He is the
president of the EconomicDevelopment Council of St. Lucie
county Pete Tash. Pete, welcometo the program.

Pete Tesch (00:33):
Thanks for having me, Sam. It's great to see you.

Sam Yates (00:35):
You know, I look at things that are going on from an
economic standpoint, all overthe state of Florida and the
country. And here in St. LucieCounty. There has been a lot
going on under your direction.
Let's see if we can break thisdown for the seniors in the
audience and others who may tunein and listen. What is the St.
Lucie County EconomicDevelopment?

Pete Tesch (01:00):
First of all, Sam, thanks so much for having me.
And again, it's great to seeyou. The EDC of St. Lucie county
is a nonprofit, privateorganization. And our mission is
to help create quality jobs forthe community.

Sam Yates (01:17):
How do you do that?

Pete Tesch (01:18):
So a couple of things. One thing to make very
clear is that we're a publicprivate partnership. As a
nonprofit group, we're run by aboard of directors with many
local business executives andcommunity leaders. And again,
with the mission of trying tohelp create jobs, working with

(01:40):
local governments and ourbusinesses and other
stakeholders. We work with newand expanding businesses. So the
key here is to providesustainable jobs to our
residents and our families. Andwe're the resource broker
advocate on behalf of thebusiness as we try to help

(02:02):
existing companies expand or toattract and relocate new
businesses. We focus primarilyon what we term target industry.
And those are companies that arein manufacturing distribution,
could be back office operation,corporate headquarters, medical

(02:25):
and other professional andbusiness services.

Sam Yates (02:28):
I know that our senior population is going to
raise their hand and ask taxdollars, is this involving my
tax dollars and what type of taxdollars either percentage or
ballpark number does thisinvolve?

Pete Tesch (02:41):
Well, to give our listeners a little bit of
perspective, our budget is abouta million dollars a year, we
raise about 65% of that from theprivate sector and somewhere
between 35 40% is localgovernment. So we have contracts
to do economic developmentservices. With St. Lucie County,

(03:03):
the city of Port St. Lucie andthe city of Fort Pierce. So
there are tax dollars, generalrevenue dollars that are
invested in our organization. Wedo a lot of measurement. We try
to measure everything in termsof economic growth and job
creation and what impact thathas on the economy. And we do

(03:25):
this using third party EconomicResearch firms. For example, the
EDC working in concert with ourlocal governments, we were able
to expand or help attract 25 newand expanding companies that had
a total economic output of $850million over that time, both

(03:48):
direct and indirect impact. Andit also in terms of return on
investment. It was for everydollar invested in these
projects. It returned $221 tolocal governments here in St.
Lucie County. So we're aninvestment organization and as

(04:11):
you invest in the community andhelp grow the economy, then, you
know, the rising tide lifts allboats in this situation.

Sam Yates (04:21):
And I would imagine that as these businesses expand
as the new companies come here,adding to that tax base, it
ultimately can lead to oursenior population in particular,
but everyone not having to digso deep into their pockets
because there's more revenue andit's spread over a larger,
larger area.

Pete Tesch (04:43):
I would say stay on that as we expand the tax base
and we grow better jobs for thecommunity. This makes it a more
vibrant, livable community. Youknow you you mentioned about
education and health care andtransportation. Some of those
key issues. I got to think thatwith our great medical care

(05:08):
system here in the community andthe advent of having Cleveland
Clinic, make their entrance intothe Treasure Coast, that that's
a result of having a growingpopulation and, you know, a
economy and a set of communitiesthat are diversified and

(05:29):
growing.

Sam Yates (05:30):
I think that's one that most seniors in St. Lucie
county and as a matter of fact,throughout the Treasure Coast,
and to a large extent, theentire state of Florida and for
some specifics nationally andworldwide, that some of the
facilities here have becomeworld class, and I know EDC has
played a role in that. How, howhave you helped to, to move that

(05:54):
forward?

Pete Tesch (05:55):
Well, one thing that's important is Rob Lord,
the current president ofCleveland Clinic, Martin health
as the chairman of ourorganization, so we and we have
other health care executives. Soyou know, we're very, you know,
we're grateful to have theirparticipation and their

(06:16):
expertise. So, for example, withCleveland Clinic, you know, we
helped make introductions in thecommunity for their healthcare
executives, and, you know,primarily they were very
interested in, in this case,tradition, you know, tradition
hospital, and now also theformer vaccine gene therapy

(06:39):
Institute. So we work veryclosely with Cleveland Clinic
and the city of Port St. Lucieto arrange for that facility to
now become the Florida Researchand Innovation Center, where
Cleveland Clinic, which has oneof the largest biomedical
research institutes in theUnited States, this is their

(07:01):
first research facility outsideof Cleveland, right here in Port
St. Lucie. So we're happy toplay a minor and supporting role
in that. But, you know, the factthat we have, you know, this
excellent health care system nowin our community, lends the fact
that we do have that growingvibrant economy here in Port St.

(07:25):
Lucie in St. Lucie County.

Sam Yates (07:28):
And I know that a lot of those executives that you
mentioned, when they look at anarea and say, Cleveland Clinic,
should we be there, it's morethan just brick and mortar
facility, they look at qualityof life, they look at how the
economy is doing. And certainlythose were all factors I would
imagine.

Pete Tesch (07:45):
So all the things that are important to you, Sam,
were important to Maureen andimportant to me now that I'm
becoming chronologically gifted,is, you know, to look at some of
these factors with regard tohealth care and education and
you know, how those things allinteract together, but

(08:06):
particularly when businesses andcorporate executives and site
selectors are starting tolooking at communities. They're
looking at the educationalsystem, they're looking at the
cost of living, theaffordability of housing. You
know, can I get from point A topoint B without being stuck in
traffic, and, you know, othercultural, recreational, and

(08:34):
other things that kind of makeup the special and unique nature
of St. Lucie county in theTreasure Coast.

Sam Yates (08:41):
And Pete, I you know, if I were not the gray haired
host of those great Americanseniors show I would be looking
around the room who is hetalking about? But Ladies and
gentlemen, let me tell you, Ihave known Pete for a long time.
And Pete, you've got some graycreeping egg on the sides here.
So crow's feet. Yeah, yep. Soit's, it is not hit has not

(09:02):
taken its toll on either one ofus. But certainly the aging
process is at work here. Onswamp land for we go back a long
way. I might I might have adeveloper but that's so you
know, I I, I chuckle as thingshave changed over the last few

(09:24):
years, including ourselves. Butone of the biggest changes has
been the the COVID pandemic.
What impact did yourorganization see not internally,
but just from an overallworkforce development, economic
incentive to do anything duringthe pandemic?

Pete Tesch (09:47):
Obviously, it was a very miserable time, Sam last
year. Lots of uncertainty. A lotof individuals that lost their
jobs lost their livelihoods.
Intense disruption amongst ourresidents. You know, it was a
horrible time. Some parts of theeconomy chugged along. Others

(10:11):
fell flat on its face. So youknow, you look at tourism,
hospitality, retail, boom, wehad, you know, well over double
digit unemployment for a while.
So, yeah, things were set back.
And, you know, the negativeconsequences are, are still
there, but they are mitigatingjust because of, you know, the

(10:35):
growth, as you mentioned, in thebeginning of the program with
the state of Florida, and nowthe Treasure Coast. And things
are starting to recover. Butthere's a certainly different
mindset about the business thatwe're in the economy and
business development as a resultof the post COVID environment
that we're in.

Sam Yates (10:56):
I think a lot of people may look at your
organization and say, Were itnot for the organization helping
to build a strong economic basehere, things could have been
much worse.

Pete Tesch (11:08):
Well, I appreciate that. Sam, over the last 10
years, there's been a prettysignificant transfer Nate
transformation of the economy.
You know, one of the the issuesthat we're confronted with is
that our average earnings perworker in St. Lucie county is
about 85%, of the Floridaaverage. And you know, I don't
know about you, or Marine, or,you know, my family, it's like,

(11:32):
I want 100%, you know, to liveon 85% is, is challenging. So,
you know, we have a very growingand robust manufacturing sector.
With that, the marine industry,along with now, we're seeing
distribution and logistics, thatindustry sector being built,

(11:58):
even in greater capacity alongas we talked about with
healthcare. So there's somedynamics in our economy that are
positively impacting where wego. And I think it's also going
to positively impact the courseand the direction of the
economy, in the post pandemicphase, because people don't want

(12:21):
to live in huge metro areas inthe northeast and the Midwest.
And as you can see, we've had,you know, a tremendous influx of
population.

Sam Yates (12:33):
To that end, I know that as people drive around, or
if you fly over the area, as youjust said, there is a really
significant amount of build outand growth and new houses. One
of the the potential negativesand someone saying, Hey, I
didn't move here to have all ofthat, how do you counter that

(12:54):
and, and it's not a NIMBY, butpeople get used to a certain
thing. How do we overcome that?

Pete Tesch (13:01):
Well, I guess Sam, Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie
counties kind of set up forgrowth. I mean, you know, you
look at tradition, you look atthe I 95 chord or, you know, you
see the positive pro business,pro growth, attitudes and
posture that our localgovernments have. So, yeah, I

(13:23):
think from a short term, youknow, we have to be
conscientious of traffic andinfrastructure. But kind of
going back to the premise thatif, as we expand the tax base,
there's more resources for localgovernments as well as the
state, you know, to help improveour transportation networks and
our infrastructure. I mean, thatthat's an ongoing function of

(13:47):
our local governments to beproactive on so yeah. I 95 you
know, you drive on traditionParkway or, or midway road, and
it's like, my gosh, there,there's, there's a lot of people
on the road. And anyway, gettingback to the the part that making
sure our local governments haveenough resources to improve and

(14:11):
expand our road network is thekey to that.

Sam Yates (14:13):
Well, I know when our local governments are looking at
development, they do turn toyou. I've seen it happening over
the years where if EconomicDevelopment Council of St. Lucie
county says we think this is agood idea, this is going to have
a significant impact on ourcommunities, a positive impact,
and they generally listen towhat you have to say. How do you

(14:36):
get all of those entities towork together and Port St. Lucie
Fort Pierce St. Lucie County,it's it's rather unique, that
there's not a lot of snipinggoing on between the
governmental sectors.

Pete Tesch (14:51):
But we are fortunate here in this community that
there is a spirit of cooperationand collaboration and again,
obviously we're all human and weare We have to work together.
But it seems, you know, we'retrying to focus on some specific
things. We can't be all thingsto everyone. However, you know,
these things that revolve aroundbusiness competitiveness and

(15:15):
workforce readiness, and youmentioned infrastructure, and,
you know, how do we interrelatewith business expansion? You
know, these, these are in ourwheelhouse. So, you know, at
least from a public policyaspect, you know, we, you know,
we do the research, we do thehomework on it on an issue, try

(15:38):
not to politicize it, but, youknow, keep it focused on the
issue at hand. You know, like,for example, we're, we're really
big on, on workforce readiness,talent acquisition, making sure
that, you know, all ourstakeholders are working on

(15:59):
education, which is the enginefor economic development. So,
you know, we spent a lot of timeand we've utilized consultants
and put together variousstudies, indicating that, you
know, we need to becollaborative, and take a
leadership role in making surethat we have sufficient workers

(16:19):
to operate our our places ofwork, the shop floor, the
hospitals, etc. So, you know, wethink that because of our board
and the research that we dothat, you know, we are a voice
of authority in some of thesesubject matter areas.

Sam Yates (16:37):
I have to agree with that. One final question. As I'm
watching the clock, will you beable to come back for another
session where we can talk aboutsome other things I know, you're
not into the retail, but there'sa reason for that. And there's a
couple of other items that Iwant to touch upon. So would you
be a guest again, if invitedback, Sam, I will gladly come

(16:58):
back. My invitation is righthere on the table. So, Pete, I
look forward to that. And myspecial thanks again to Pete
Tesh, the president of theEconomic Development Council of
St. Lucie county for being myguest today. Pete, I have to
tell you, you are the firsteconomic development
professional that I haveinterviewed for the program. And

(17:20):
there's a reason for that,because you are so progressive.
And there are other EconomicDevelopment Councils and
organizations throughout Floridain the country that haven't even
thought about taking the messageout to their publics this way.
But I wanted you to be the firstbecause we have had a long
relationship.

Pete Tesch (17:39):
So thank you, Sam, if, if I could also interject
for those listeners out there.
Our website is www dot youredc.com. And it's a wonderful
collection. It's a excellentrepository of reports and

(17:59):
studies of all this stuff thatwe've talked about. You know, if
if someone out there is havingsleep issues, there's a lot of
great information out there thatmight help and

Sam Yates (18:11):
You're a mind reader because that was my next
question. How can people tapinto it? It's a very fascinating
resource that is updated on aconstant basis. And I know that
I have had people from all overthe nation all over the world
that have gone to the websiteand they quickly find out why
this area is the Treasure Coastand why St. Lucie county Port

(18:35):
St. Lucie Fort Pierce is thegym, the Treasure Coast.

Pete Tesch (18:39):
Well said.

Sam Yates (18:40):
Pete, thank you for being here. today. We're going
to take Pete up on hisacceptance of coming back and
doing another program with usand what the future holds for
his organization and how it allties together. I'm Sam Yates and
that's the way the program ends.