🏛️ Freeport City Council split over whether to back the Walton County Economic Development Alliance (EDA) with a letter of support.
🚦 EDA credited with securing $700K in federal funding for a Freeport traffic light project, but some leaders question job creation results.
👤 Executive Director Uriah Matthews, who defends the Alliance’s broader mission, will step down Aug. 29 amid rising scrutiny.
With his resignation set for Aug. 29, Walton County Economic Development Alliance (EDA) Executive Director Uriah Matthews is leaving amid heightened debate over the group’s impact, as local officials question whether its efforts have produced enough jobs or laid the groundwork for long-term growth.
Some Walton County leaders are questioning whether the group is delivering enough new jobs and others are pointing to infrastructure improvements as evidence of progress.
At the center of the discussion is EDA Executive Director Uriah Matthews, who sought a letter of support from the Freeport City Council last week and later delivered a quarterly update to the Board of County Commissioners. While some city officials argued the EDA’s work has not translated into visible job growth, others highlighted its role in securing more than $700,000 in federal funding for a new traffic light project. Matthews, who steps down from his post on Aug. 29, has defended the Alliance’s broader mission of preparing the county for long-term business growth rather than focusing solely on immediate job creation.
There has been a lot of conversation during the last week in Walton County regarding the Economic Development Alliance (EDA), whose Strategic Plan is “to guide economic development efforts across Walton County. With a rapidly growing population, world-class natural assets, and a thriving business environment, our strategic approach ensures sustainable, high-quality growth that benefits residents, businesses, and investors alike.”
But like most positions in Walton County, the ‘powers that be’ are either content with the productivity and performance of those who serve the County in some capacity (in this case, the EDA) or they aren’t.
Last week, the City Council of Freeport held its regular meeting on Tuesday. At that meeting, Uriah Matthews, Executive Director of the EDA, was on the agenda, and the purpose of his presentation was to seek support in the form of a letter from the Freeport City Council to take back to the Walton County Commissioners (BCC). The letter requested was to be a means of support for the contributions of the EDA. Two of the Council members, Elizabeth Haffner and Elizabeth Brannon, expressed interest and voiced the potential of the EDA, but they were less than excited by the number of jobs that have been created due to the EDA.
It was clear that some of the City Council members equated “economic development” with the number of jobs created in Freeport or in Walton County. Matthews clarified that economic development does eventually result in jobs, but it (the EDA) does not see its main objective as the creation of jobs. The EDA, at that meeting, was compared to the act of “setting the dinner table [preparing the way for growth and business] and introducing platforms for residents to have jobs.”
Freeport Councilman Eddie Parks expressed gratitude toward Matthews for what he called successful infrastructure efforts made by the EDA to help better manage traffic and ultimately fund the construction of a traffic light (to be located at the intersection of Highway 20 W and 83A). Parks acknowledged that without the EDA (and specifically Uriah Matthews), it would have taken a very long time to get approval and funding.
In a conversation with Mid Bay News, Matthews said that he found a Federal Grant that would provide over $700.000 for this needed project. Councilman Parks said that without this effort by the EDA, there was little probability that the project would be on the books. It was stated recently at a BCC meeting that traffic lights cost over $1,000,000 to install, and at that same meeting, one commissioner indicated that at least 13 traffic lights are currently needed in the county.
Councilwoman Brannon said that she could not support the creation of a letterof support for the EDA from the Freeport City Council because she did not feel it was the work (or place) of the Freeport City Council to tell the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) what to do.
In a conversation with Mr. Matthews, regarding the letter of support, Mr. Matthews said that the EDA is an “Alliance.” The EDA (Economic Development Alliance), as it is designed, is to draw everyone together, and as Matthews told Mid Bay News, “and try to help the community [Walton County] and help the community bond together because we want the County to be better for our neighbor[s].”
That same afternoon, at the BCC meeting in DeFuniak Springs, Uriah Matthews was listed on the formal agenda to provide an EDA Quarterly Update. This “Citizens Request” presentation was very peculiar because Matthews was told just prior to speaking by BCC Chair, Donna Johns, that he would be given a total of three minutes to speak.
In his brief presentation, Matthews decided to give an overview of the highlights of the EDA accomplishments. He began by saying, “There is an increase of 2 jobs over the last quarter at our existing industrial parks.” He added that at Tourist Technologies located in Mossy Head, there was a creation of between 9 and 11 new jobs. He then spent time talking about how businesses seeking a location to plant their business will often contract with a “site selection” firm that will work to find a location that best matches with the specifications needed to find a place for a particular business or industry. Matthews reported that over the past year, the EDA has been working with Vista Site Selections to hopefully welcome them to our area [Walton County] in hopes of generating more business development in Walton County. Matthews closed his presentation with support for the Wonderful Walton Brand that seeks to build business and foster growth for the long run in the county and cities within the county.
In a conversation with Uriah Matthews following the BCC Meeting, he said that he has given three Quarterly Updates to the BCC on prior occasions, and this is the only time that the BCC had limited his time. It is interesting that the BCC meeting took a total of seven hours and yet an agency that receives money from the county for its operation was limited at ‘Citizens Request’ to speak so briefly.
Toward the end of the meeting, during Public Comment, Uriah Matthews approached the podium and added that 90 additional jobs have been created, and then said that with Federal Express, over 100 jobs had come to the county. In a conversation with Matthews, he reported to Mid Bay News that the process of Economic Development is much more than jobs. He said, “Economic Development looks different in every community.” He added, “It is not just jobs.” He believes that formalized economic development must engage the local government because of industrial codes, and efforts to attract and maintain businesses are essential to growth. He added that it is hard to pinpoint and maintain something that is not well defined. He suggested that one reason government participation in economic development is important is because the government has the ability to “provide time” for businesses to land and develop, whereas the private sector is not willing to wait, and they do not typically have the same long-term goals as the government – building for the future of the community.
In each of his presentations on the 12th of August, Matthews spoke about “Industrial Parks,” and he indicated that both the cities of Paxton and DeFuniak Springs have these developments. What is an Industrial Park or a Technical Park? They are both parcels of land owned by the government for community/business development. This is a key method to bring in more business, which brings in more jobs to the community.
Matthews reflected on his tenure with the EDA and shared that he began his employment with the Alliance in January 2023. Our reporter asked him if he had been terminated, and he said, “No.” His last day of employment with the EDA will be August 29. Matthews indicated that his work with the EDA was rewarding and difficult at the same time. He shared that Walton County is in a process of maturing, and he expounded on the change that is happening. He said that “…a time is coming when we will move from a more rural status [approach] to one that is more professional.” He added that if we were to make a comparison of a child growing to adulthood, we [Walton County] would be in our teenage years, and he indicated that season (of life) can be very awkward. The teenage years can also be very trying, and thankfully, that season is also a time when we begin to discover who we are and where we are (or are not) headed.
Matthews expressed disappointment overall, but expressed a fondness for the County, and he believes over time a movement from a formative ‘rural framework’ will sooner or later become a new ‘professional’ approach where he believes Walton County will “professionalize everything.” He believes changes are ahead.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
Register or login with Mid Bay News and never get another pop up on our site!
