here - Satellite Beach

Internet Research
Armando Martinez
(Note: Articles Appear in Reverse Chronological Order)
Tab 8
Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
December 26, 2008
Flagler County in hunt for company, 470 jobs
Author: HEATHER SCOFIELD - STAFF WRITER
BUNNELL - A deal is in the works that could eventually bring up to 470 new jobs to Flagler
County over a period of years starting in January, said Bunnell City Manager Armando
Martinez.
"All I can say is we are aggressively moving to bring economic development to Bunnell,"
Martinez said.
Martinez, who has dubbed the deal "Project Sprint," said that, of the 470 jobs, 70 would be
filled within 90 days of signing a deal and more than 100 would be guaranteed by the end of the
first year.
If successful, the deal also could mean new construction work in the city, Martinez said, as
company officials plan to build a new facility in Bunnell for their operations.
Martinez said negotiations are ongoing so he could not elaborate about the company's name or
the types of jobs that might be brought to the city.
"Project Sprint" comes as Flagler County continues to be home to the second highest unemployment
rate in the state, despite the recent success of "Project Continental," which retained 1,000
jobs at Palm Coast Data and added 700 new ones.
The deal with Palm Coast and its parent company, New Jersey-based AMREP Corp., means an
estimated $175 million in new economic activity in Flagler, city and county officials have said.
But to land it, Palm Coast officials had to hand over their Commerce Boulevard city hall site for
the company's new headquarters.
AMREP will pay $240,000 annually for the site and has the option to buy it for $3 million within
three years.
Doug Baxter, president of the local Chamber of Commerce, said then "the fallout" from the deal
was "huge."
"What we have here is a foundation to build on to bring other companies to the area," he said.
That's exactly what Martinez is banking on now.
Martinez wouldn't say if the incentives that he and county officials are negotiating with the
company they're trying to woo would be similar to those offered to Palm Coast Data earlier this
Page 72 of 104