UCF economist to speak at Business Development Day

University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith will be the guest speaker at the Highlands County Economic Development Commission's Business Development Day.

The event will be held April 22 at the Quality Inn Conference Center in Sebring. There will be a breakfast and then a couple of workshops will be held following Snaith's speech.

Dan Murphy, EDC executive director, said he would like the workshops to include social marketing on social networking sites, Small Business Administration financing and how minority business owners can get certification for government projects.

Snaith is the director of UCF's Institute for Economic Competitiveness. He received national recognition in 2008 when Bloomberg News named him one of the country's most accurate forecasters.

The speaker fee for Snaith is $3,000, according to Murphy. Murphy said he has two sponsors who "will share most of the cost."

In other business, Murphy told the directors the Highlands County Commission will considering placing the tax abatement question on the ballot during either its March 2 or March 9 meeting. Murphy said he will suggest the question of should the commissioners be allowed to grant - on a case-by-case basis - property tax exemptions to new businesses be included on the August primary ballot.

Murphy reported that he and Mike Willingham, executive director at Sebring Regional Airport, flew to Miami on Tuesday to meet with a prospect. They talked with the owner of a jet engine repair company who wants to relocate his business to the Sebring airport.

The owner, who is from Sebring, needs a 75,000-square-foot building, Willingham said. He noted there is "genuine interest" but added that it would have to make sense.

Willingham said he is in the process of determining the cost of building, which he indicated would be not be cheap. If the project moves forward, he said funding for a building would likely come from multiple sources.

Willingham said he expects to make a presentation to the Sebring Airport Authority board of directors in April.

The EDC board's meeting next month will be March 10 in Avon Park. A location has yet to be announced.