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working at cross purposes. It seemed to her that if we worked at the part of the equation we would be a lot further ahead. Her other concern was the selection of the committee members and the criteria. Commissioner Adams asked how it was that Palm Beach County ended up with 8 members and the other three counties had 5 each, and Mr. Busha remarked that Palm Beach County had asked the same question, "How come we have only 8, when we have a million people?" The representation numbers were based on population. Commissioner Adams countered that the money is coming from a grant, one county is not giving any more than any other county, so she did not see that one county should have any more representatives than any other county. She could see it if they contributed more money. Her other concern had to do with the meeting place because Indian River County was quite a distance from Stuart and it was difficult for people to make the journey. Mr. Busha thought the OEDP could be rotated to the different counties, so that everyone is not completely inconvenienced every meeting. Commissioner Adams felt that all four counties already had very strong economic development councils already working, and the offer would merely coordinate, but it would still involve county staff to furnish information. She felt there were other sources of loans. She had mixed emotions that maybe this was just another bureaucratic layer to find a niche to qualify to fund another staff member. She was not convinced that it was necessary. Commissioner Ginn agreed that this might turn out to be another layer of bureaucracy. She had to wonder if the benefits to Indian River County are worth the involvement. We are unique and have a unique lifestyle here. We want economic development, but we have an idea of what we'd like, and we're not really in sync with some of the other counties to the south. Also, there is likely to be competition in numbers. Commissioner Tippin did not want to risk tampering with what is now in place with the Chamber of Commerce's efforts, plus he was not in favor of adding this to what the regional planning council needs to be about. Commissioner Macht commented this is the age of devolution as defined by the Congress on down, which means we are restoring the authority that has been usurped from local governments over the years. He thought Indian River County had no business going in the opposite direction. ON MOTION by Commissioner Adams, SECONDED BY Commissioner Macht, the Board unanimously and respectfully declined the invitation to join the Regional Overall Economic Development Program Committee. 51 June 10, 1997 ECnr .� -� L FAGE 7J