HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009.06.15 EDA Packet AGENDA
CITY OF HUGO
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
MONDAY, JUNE I5, 2009
8:30 AM
8:30 am t. Call to Order
8:31 am 2. Roll Call
8:32 am 3. Approval of Minutes
EDA Nleeting of May 18, 2009
8:35 am 4. Presentation of Donation Checks for the BR&E
Program
• Brant Gustafson, Postal Credit Union
• Kerstin Quigley, Lake Area Bank
• Joe Houle, Premier Bank
8:55 am 5. Update on Carpenters Redevelopment Project
9:05 am 6. Discussion on TIF Certification
9:35 am 7. Discussion on EDA Meeting Dates
9:55 am 8. Update on Downtown Redevelopment and Commercial
Projects
10:15 am 9. Update on the BR&E Program
10:30 am 10. Adjournment
BACKGROUND MEMO FOR THE EDA MEETING OF
MONDAY, JUNE 15, 2009
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Staff recommends approval of the minutes from the May 18, 2009, EDA Meeting as
presented.
4. PRESENTATION OF DONATION CHECKS FOR THE BR&E PROGRAM
Representatives from Postal Credit Union, Lake Area Bank, and Premier Bank will be
present at the meeting to present donation checks for the BR&E Program. Staff
recommends that the EDA formally thank the banks for their contribution to the program.
5. UPDATE ON CARPENTERS REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Staff will update the EDA on the progress of the Carpenters Redevelopment project
6. DISCUSSION ON TIF CERTIFICATION
Staff will present the EDA with options for certification of the TIF District. Staff
recommends the EDA certify the TIF District after June 30, 2009 and make no revisions
to the TIF Plan
7. DISCUSSION ON EDA MEETING DATES
Staff would like to discuss the day of the meeting with the EDA. They currently are on
the same morning as the City Council meetings. There has been concern about the
meeting being on the same day. Since the EDA meets once a month, the
recommendations to the Council usually come from the EDA that same day. It does not
give the Council time to review the recommendation from the EDA prior to the Council
meeting. Staff recommends the EDA discuss this issue.
8. UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIAL
PROJECTS
Staff will update the EDA on downtown redevelopment and other commercial projects in
the City.
9. UPDATE ON THE BR&E PROGRAM
Staff will update the EDA on the progress of the BR&E program.
MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF MAY 18,2009
EDA Vice President Phil Klein called the meeting to order at 8:30 am.
PRESENT: Jan Arcand, Jim Bever Tom Denaway, Mike Granger, Phil Klein, and Fran
Miron.
ABSENT: Brian Thistle
CITY STAFF PRESENT: City Administrator Mike Ericson, Community Development
Director Bryan Bear, Associate Planner Rachel Simone, and Shayla Syverson, EDA / Parks
Intern
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF APRIL 20, 2009
Granger made motion, Bever seconded,to approve the minutes for the EDA meeting of April 20,
2009.
All ayes. Motion carried.
INTRODUCTION OF SHAYLA SYVERSON
Staff introduced Shayla Syverson, Economic Development and Parks Intern to the EDA. She
will be working on the BR&E Program, parks programming for the Rice Lake Soccer
complex, and other community development tasks. The EDA welcomed Shayla as a member
of the City Hall team.
UPDATE ON BR&E PROGRAM
The Associate Planner gave an update on the BR&E Program. She gave an update on the
funding and status of establishing the Leadership Team. There is a meeting scheduled for
May 20, 2009 with Liz Templin from the U of M Extension Services to discuss the next
steps. Staff will continue to update the EDA on the progress of the BR&E Program.
UPDATE ON GOOD TIMES FLEA MARKET
Staff updated the EDA on the status of the Good Time Flea Market. The CD Director stated
that the event did not happen because the proper steps for approval were not taken. He stated
that they may come in at a later date and ask for approval of the flea market.
Granger stated that this may not be the best area for a flea market since this could be a
redevelopment property. The flea market may delay the redevelopment. Denaway agreed.
TIF DISCUSSION
On Monday, April 6, 2009, the City Council approved the site plan and variances for
Carpenters restaurant located at 14559 Forest Boulevard North. The site plan includes an
8,008 square foot single story restaurant building and parking lot for the restaurant. At the
meeting staff stated that a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) application and parking easement
agreement will be requested by the applicant at a later date. Staff and members from
Springsted have been working with the applicant on the TIF application and TIF agreement
and the City Attorney on the parking easement agreement. Staff recommended that the EDA
review and make a recommendation to the City Council on the TIF agreement and parking
easement agreement. Staff recommended approval of the TIF agreement and parking
easement agreement. Staff and Springsted also discussed TIF Certification with the EDA.
Mikaela Huot from Springsted explained to EDA the TIF request was for site clearing,
demolition, earthwork, public parking, SAC/WAC fees, landscaping and administration fees.
She discussed with the Council the timing of the certification and the deadlines, and the pay-
as-you-go assistance, which shifted the risk from the public to the private sector. The term of
the TIF note would be $148,800 in principle for 15 years at 8 percent, and the estimated
market value of the project would be $2 million upon completion in 2010.
Mikaela Huot also discussed certification of the TIF District with the EDA. She stated that if
Carpenters goes forward in the near future that the City could request certification of the TIF
District before June 30, 2009 to ensure the increment is received for the project this year. If
they do not go forward the City can wait until after June 30, 2009. She also talked about
delaying the receipt of increment by modifying the plan with a public hearing.
Klein asked about the terms and agreement for the TIF request. Huot stated that the City has
the discretion of not certifying the TIF District until a building permit is issued for the
project.
Denaway made a motion, Granger seconded, to approve the TIF Agreement and Parking
Easement Agreement for the Carpenters Project. Directed staff to look at the business
subsidy requirement for allowing the use of the City owned property for parking.
All aye. Motion Carried.
UPDATE ON 165TH STREET AND HIGHWAY 61 AREA MEETING
On Thursday, May 14, 2009 staff met with the property owners in the 165th Street and
Highway 61 area. The meeting was to discuss the possibility of another industrial park in that
area. On the 2030 land use plan the area is shown as industrial.
Klein updated the EDA on the outcome of the meeting. He stated that the meeting went very
well and we gave them on opportunity to network with their neighbors. They all have each
others contact information and now it is up to them if they want to work together on a
project. The people at the meeting were generally interested in redeveloping their property.
ADJOURNMENT
Granger made a motion, seconded by Klein, to adjourn at 9:50 am.
All Ayes, Motion Carried.
IMPLEMENTING
BR & E
LOCAL �s
BUSINESS
RETENTION & ExPANSION
BUSINESS VISITATION PROGRAM
RETENTION
LOCAL LEADERSHIP
AND TEAMMANUAL
ExPANSION
Scott Loveridge and George Morse
VISITATION
PROGRf1NIS
NERCRD
Publication
-- -- ---
No. 72
ABOUT THESE MATERIALS ARE WE SPEAKING THE
This booklet is part of a set of materials on SAME LANGUAGE?
Implementing Local Business Retention and Expansion
Hisitation Programs,which includes the following: As you read these booklets,you will run into three terms
frequently open to different interpretations. To avoid
confusion,we encourage you to use the following definitions
Brochures on BR&E Visitation Program for these terms:
Three versions of a brochure are included with these materi-
als. One gives a quick overview of the program. A second Community Economic Development is a sustained
brochure is identical to the first,but with an additional community effort to improve both the local economy and the
section explaining the roles of Task Force members. A third quality life by building the area's capacity to adapt to
brochure is identical to the first brochure,but with a special global economic changes.
section explaining how Volunteer Visitors participate.
BR&E includes all community economic development
efforts aimed at helping local businesses survive and grow
Is It for Our Community? within the community.
This booklet gives a more detailed overview of the program. The BR&E Visitation Program is an action-oriented
process for learning about the concerns of local businesses
and setting priorities for BR&E projects to address these
Initiator's Manual for Starting New BR&E needs. These booklets focus on a BR&E Visitation approach
Visitation Programs that has been field tested in many states and subjected to two
The best people to organize a new BR&E Visitation major evaluation research projects.
Program in a community are already the busiest people in town.
While this program has tremendous benefits, it is also a lot of
work. To overcome this dilemma,this study guide suggests
efficient ways to use these materials to evaluate whether or not These booklets focus on the BR&E Visitation
the program is right for a community,and if so,how to program. The BR&E Visitation program helps
organize it effectively and efficiently. communities with their overall BR&E efforts --
a critical part of community economic
development. A glossary of additional terms
BR&E Visitation Video is found in Appendix A of the booklet Is It For
This three part video includes a case study of a successful BR&E Our Community?
Visitation Program,a segment which demonstrates how to visit
firms,and a segment on follow-up.
Using the Video to Introduce the
Program and Train Volunteers
This booklet provides tips on ways to use the video segments AUTHORS
effectively.
Scott Loveridge is extension associate professor at West
Local Leadership Team Manual Virginia University,Morgantown,West Virginia.
This booklet provides details for the local citizens who George Morse is professor and extension economist at the
organize a community's BR&E Visitation Program. University of Minnesota,St.Paul,Minnesota.
Visitation Coordinator Manual
This booklet gives a step-by-step guide for whoever takes
responsibility for organizing the visits to local firms.
Penn State Printing Services
250, 8 M 4197
BR & E�
.ter"`�1 ��►
CONTENTS
Introduction ......................................................................................................................5
Coordinator's Role:Quarterback not Entire Team...................................................................................5
Benefits of Serving on Leadership Team.................................................................................................5
Summary of Roles of Leadership Team...................................................................................................6
Eligibility Requirements for Coordinators...............................................................................................7
Comment on Leadership Team Organization...........................................................................................7
Visitation Coordinator.......................................................................................................7
Details in Visitation Coordinator's Manual..............................................................................................7
Practice Firm Visits in the Community....................................................................................................8
Business Resources Coordinator.....................................................................................8
Help Other Members of the Leadership Team .........................................................................................8
VisitFirms................................................................................................................................................9
Contacts with State or Federal Agencies..................................................................................................9
Localized Factsheets on State and Federal Programs ..............................................................................9
Mailing Thank You Notes and Localized Factsheets...............................................................................9
Organizing"Red Flag„Review of Surveys .............................................................................................9
Milestone Meeting Coordinator ......................................................................................10
Help Other Members of the Leadership Team...................................................................................... 10
VisitFirms.............................................................................................................................................. 10
Arrange the Task Force Retreat.............................................................................................................. 10
Arrange the Implementation Resources Meeting................................................................................... 13
Arrange the Community Commencement Meeting ............................................................................... 13
MediaCoordinator..........................................................................................................15
Help Other Members of the Leadership Team....................................................................................... 15
VisitFirms.............................................................................................................................................. 15
Establish Contacts with the Media......................................................................................................... 15
Provide Copy to Media and Leads to Radio&TV................................................................................ 15
Overall Coordinator........................................................................................................16
Selection of Overall Coordinator ........................................................................................................... 16
Help Other Members of the Leadership Team ....................................................................................... 16
VisitFirms.............................................................................................................................................. 16
Convene Leadership Team Meetings ..................................................................................................... 16
Spokesperson for the Leadership Team.................................................................................................. 16
Tips on Getting Projects Implemented ...........................................................................16
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 3
B R & E '
CONTENTS (Continued)
Appendix A: Red Flag Follow-Up Worksheet ................................................................19
Appendix B: Implementation Worksheet ........................................................................21
Appendix C: Sample Overheads for Community Commencement Meeting ..................23
Appendix D: Sample Press Releases ............................................................................24
Appendix E: Report on Practice Visits ...........................................................................29
Research Cited and End Notes......................................................................................30
4 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
B R & E
INTRODUCTION: effort to make sure that parts are not omitted or
unorganized. This means doing some of the work yourself,
but not ALL of it! As outlined later in more detail,your
Coordinator's Role: Quarterback not participation on the Leadership Team brings you a number
Entire Team of personal benefits and rewards.
Is this booklet for you? If you have read the booklet By reading this guide,you will learn the characteristics of a
Implementing Local Business Retention and Expansion successful Leadership Team and the critical nature that the
Programs:Is It for Our Community?and you think you team plays in the BR&E Visitation process. You will
might want to become a member of the local team that helps become familiar with the roles of the Leadership Team,
organize the program,you are in the right place. This learn how these roles can contribute to the success of your
booklet will help you better understand what the Local program,as well as the benefits and costs of serving as a
Leadership Team can expect to do,and how each role member of that team(See page 6 for an overview of the
relates to the other members of the team.` different functions of the Leadership Team,and a suggestion
for how to organize them). Other organizational approaches
Before we begin to discuss the different functions of the may be more appropriate to your community. You may be
team,we need to say a few words about the overall philoso- tempted to have one person be the"everything"coordina-
phy that must guide every action of the Leadership Team. for—this was the model used in the early days of the
Unlike other Business Retention and Expansion Visitation development of the program. However,splitting these
programs,the process you are engaged in is a TEAM functions among several people makes it much more
EFFORT,not a LONE RANGER effort. While relying on feasible for volunteers to run the program.
a single individual may help get things done in the short run,
it does little to develop a community's capacity to handle
issues as they arise. Once the individual burns out,or Benefits of Serving on Leadership Team
moves away,things go back to the way they were. As a
member of the Leadership Team in this process,you will The benefits of serving on the Leadership Team are real and
need to know a little bit about what others are doing,so the significant. They are the reason that an overwhelming
team can recover quickly if someone is lost or over- majority of former coordinators recommend that other
whelmed. The best way for you to know about other parts communities do the program.' The following paragraphs
of the program is to help a little at critical points in the describe some of the potential benefits. It's up to you to
process. It turns out that there are specific times in the decide which of these might be the most important for you.
process where no one individual can do it all. Your job will
be to help out at these times,or ask for help when YOU are High Visibility in Successful Programs
responsible for coordinating a particular aspect of the
program. Being part of a highly visible,effective effort can help you
build credibility for other projects. Few economic develop-
Coordinator as Quarterback of Team ment programs provide as much opportunity for visibility
and yet are practically guaranteed to be as successful as the
(Not the Whole Team) BR&E Visitation program. While some other economic
development programs can be successful,few have the high
To understand your role a little better,think of a football success rate of the BR&E Visitation program. There are
team. A quarterback can't do the whole job—other players
seven or eight opportunities for the program to get news
are needed. When it is your turn to organize part of coverage,giving it high visibility(See Appendix D for
the local BR&E Visitation effort,it is like you are serving
in the role of team quarterback,NOT THE WHOLE team. sample press releases).
• Identification of Major Issues
As a member of the Leadership Team,you will help provide If you have been in the community for a number of years,
overall direction to the local BR&E Visitation program. the survey results probably won't surprise you. However,
Each member of the team coordinates a specific part of the the results of the survey are still likely to help you. As one
program. For whichever part of the program you choose to former coordinator put it: "I don't expect to learn anything
coordinate,the principle remains the same:you organize the new from this. But having the numbers will help me show
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 5
pp_�
B R i�G E
other community leaders what is happening here in our hundred hours just to visit them,and you wouldn't have
town. That will make my job a lot easier." Since few time for following up on individual firm problems! Also,
public-private partnerships in community economic since your state sponsor will supply a questionnaire for you
development ventures can be done without the broad to use during the firm visits,you don't have to spend time
consent of community leaders,the BR&E Visitation reinventing this part of the visitation process.
program can be helpful in this fashion.
• Opportunity to Learn About Local Economic
If you are new to the community or to economic develop- Structure
ment,the BR&E Visitation program is a good way to
become familiar with the major issues. In addition,the data Every program does some analysis of the data collected
from local firms provides facts for drawing conclusions on during the firm visits. Most state programs also provide
these issues rather than just hunches or information from information on local trends and the economic structure of
one or two local leaders. the area.This can give you a chance to assess the local
economy and its best strategies for successful development.
• Improved Efficiency in Contacting Firms
• Chance to Understand Local Leadership
Each firm visit takes a total of one and a half to two hours,
counting travel and preparation time. If you tried to visit all No matter whether you are new or experienced in a leader-
these firms by yourself, it would take between sixty to two ship role,this program will help you identify good partners
Summary of Roles of Leadership Team Business Resources Coordinator (aka the "Red
BR&E Visitation Program Flag" Coordinator)
Visitation Coordinator Help other members of the Leadership Team
Visit firms
Help other members of the Leadership Team Establish contacts with state or federal agencies that can
Visit firms help local firms*
Identify a researcher to analyze results* Prepare localized factsheet on development programs*
Select a BR&E Survey Mail thank you notes and localized factsheet to firms after
Identify and recruit Task Force the visits
Identify firms to be visited* Organize the"red flag review of surveys"by the Task Force
Coordinate Practice Visits* Assign a Task Force member to handle each immediate
Coordinate Visitation Volunteer training* business concern
Mail copies of surveys to the researcher*
Media Coordinator
Milestone Meeting Coordinator Help other members of the Leadership Team
Visit firms
Help other members of the Leadership Team Etablish contacts with the media
Visit firms Provide copy to media
Arrange(including invitations)the Task Force retreat
Arrange(including invitations)the implementation Overall Coordinator (often serves as one of the
resources meeting above)
Arrange(including invitations)the community
commencement meeting Help other members oJ'the Leadership Team
Visit firms
* If your program is working with a BR&E Consultant, Coordinate Leadership Team
generally the consultant either does these steps or provides
major assistance on them.
6 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
BR & E �
for the future. If you are new,you may identify a good Coordinator,the media aspects seem to be left for last and
mentor as part of this process. If you are experienced,you often are not done. This is a big mistake because the media
may identify someone to carry on and support what you can be effective in drawing the community's attention and
have been doing. Strong programs in economic develop- support to the process and the plans developed for improv-
ment depend on more than one person. A broad-based team ing the local business climate.
of local leaders must be involved in developing a vision of
future development and reaching consensus on the steps
necessary to reach this vision. WHERE TO MEET?
While this section has presented the benefits of serving on
the Leadership Team,you will get a better picture of this if If possible,it's best to pick one relatively central location
you talk with an experienced member of a BR&E Visitation and meet there consistently throughout the BR&E Visitation
Leadership Team. Your BR&E Visitation consultant or process. Some communities prefer to rotate the meeting
program state sponsor can provide you with a list of these place,reasoning that the Leadership Team and the Task
individuals and tell you a little about their background and Force can spread out the commuting costs. While this may
program so that you can pick ones that are most directly be a nice gesture,it also can create problems. First,it makes
related to your circumstances. it difficult to know whether meeting equipment(overhead
projectors,chalk boards,flip charts,photocopier)are
available"on-site." Second,rotating the meetings means
Eligibility Requirements for Coordinators that someone must make sure everyone knows where you
are meeting each time. Choose a room that is appropriate to
If you are wondering if you're eligible to serve on the the size of the group to be meeting. If your twenty-person
Leadership Team,ask yourself the following questions: Are Task Force meets in a room built for one hundred people,
you well respected in the community? Can you systemati- Task Force members may conclude you wanted more people
cally organize parts of the effort? Do you have some but couldn't get enough interest. If you try to squeeze your
experience in community economic development or in twenty-person Task Force into the ten-person room that you
leading volunteer groups? If you answered yes to any of use for Leadership Team meetings,claustrophobia is likely
these questions,then you're eligible. It is best if some of to crowd out creative thinking about local business
the members of the Leadership Team have some experience problems.
in community economic development and in leading
volunteer groups. You may work in a job where you can
count your work with the local BR&E Visitation program as VISITATION COORDINATOR
a job assignment. If you are a retired executive,a dedicated
local business person,or a community leader able to devote
your time to this effort,you also are well qualified to serve Details in Visitation Coordinator's Manual
on the Leadership Tearn.'
If you are considering serving as the Visitation Coordinator
and are wondering if you are qualified,you will need to be
Comment on Leadership Team able to:introduce the program to local businesses,organize
Organization volunteer training,oversee mailing of information,and track
the progress of volunteers in completing their visits. If you
The Leadership Team does not necessarily have to have four are interested in this role,you get your own booklet. It is
or five members,but there are some real advantages to using done separately because of the detail under the section on
a team of four or five. Without a team,there is a risk of training volunteers. Don't panic,however. If you have a
major disruptions if a single individual serving as coordina- BR&E Consultant,they will help you with several aspects
for becomes seriously ill or unexpectedly must resign due to of your role. A detailed visitation guide and discussion of
changes at work Without a Business Resources Coordina- how to train Volunteer Visitors are the subjects of the
tor,this aspect often gets short-changed,even though most booklet, Visitation Coordinator Manual. So—we provide
programs claim that it is an extremely important aspect to details here on only one aspect of your responsibilities,
achieving success. Similarly,there is a need for careful coordinating the practice visits. This is included in this
attention to the logistics of the mini-retreat and community booklet because each of the other coordinators will also visit
commencement ceremony. When there is no Media firms and should be aware of what it involves.
Local Leadership Team Manual — 7
R & E
Practice Firm Visits in the Community BUSINESS RESOURCES
The local BR&E Visitation Leadership Team should COORDINATOR
participate in two practice firm visits prior to the Volunteer
Visitor training. Participating in these practice visits will What do you need to be a good Business Resources Coordi-
help the Leadership Team to answer questions volunteers nator? People skills are important. Knowledge of state and
may ask about firms during their visitation training. These federal programs to help business also can be an asset. If
"practice"visits double as the"real"visits. Thus,the you become the Business Resources Coordinator,your job
concerns of the firms should be addressed,and the survey will be to organize immediate follow-up to individual
should be copied and sent in with the other surveys. Below business concerns. The long-term success of a BR&E
are some tips on doing the practice visits: Visitation program depends largely on the effectiveness of
handling this follow-up,because tangible early successes
Choose any firm,but go to two different firms. help keep the team energized for carrying out the long-range
• plans for community action. The individual business
• Participate! All members of the Leadership Team need concerns are often called"red flag issues,"because of their
to visit at least one firm. important or urgent nature. The role and responsibilities of
the Business Resources Coordinator,Leadership Team,and
This is particularly true for team members who think that Task Force to follow-up on these immediate concerns are
they do not need to go or who talk about having experience outlined in this section. Immediate follow-up work can be
doing this. If their experience and biases are different than very tedious and time-consuming if you tackle it alone. The
what will be recommended during the volunteer training,it best follow-up work is accomplished in a cooperative
is very important that they go through the visits as we will fashion. If you are the Business Resources Coordinator,you
be recommending them. Then if they want to suggest have the following responsibilities:
differences,that is okay. But some of the"20-year experts"
in economic development do not know how to do the visits Help other members of the Leadership Team.
correctly. It is a lot smoother to demonstrate the best way to • Visit Firms.
do it than to have to debate these points in front of all the Establish contacts with state or federal agencies that can
help local firms.
volunteers.
• Prepare localized factsheet on development programs.
• Send firms a copy of the letter and the survey before the Organize the"red flag review of surveys"by the Task
visits. Either mail or deliver the cover letter and survey Force.
to the firm. Be sure that you have the most current Mail thank you notes and the localized factsheets to
survey before doing this. Check with your state firms after the visits.
sponsor.
• Assign a Task Force member to handle each immediate
business concern.
• Handle immediate follow-up from visits. The practice
visits are the official visits for these firms. The What is actually needed for each of the above items? What
Leadership Team needs to handle the follow-up in the follows is more detail.
same fashion as the Task Force would later. Every firm
is important!
Help Other Members of the
• To provide feedback for your BR&E Consultant and Leadership Team
for the Volunteer Visitors,list your reactions to the
practice visits on the sheet in Appendix E. As a member of the Leadership Team,you must attend
Leadership Team meetings regularly and familiarize
yourself with the roles of other Leadership Team members.
Naturally,as part of the Leadership Team,you also serve on
the Task Force. Reading this booklet will provide that
information,so you can help others when they need it.
8 — Local Leadership Team Manual
---B R & E 1
Visit Firms Organizing "Red Flag" Review of Surveys
All Leadership Team members visit between one to three After ten to fifteen surveys have been returned to the
firms. Visitation Coordinator,the entire Task Force should meet
and review each of the surveys. As the Business Resources
Coordinator,you will organize these meetings. The purpose
Contacts with State or Federal Agencies of this review is to identify specific ways that the BR&E
Visitation program can provide assistance to each firm and
Effective BR&E Visitation follow-up often requires help to assign the responsibility to one or more of the Task Force
from state and/or federal agencies. Contact your state members for working with each firm. Typically,it takes
BR&E sponsor,BREI Certified Consultant,or state devel- two,three,or more meetings to complete the survey review
opment agency for a"starter"list of programs. It really process,depending on the number of interviews completed.'
helps if some development program staff are familiar with
the local BR&E Visitation program. You can split up the If you want tangible results from your program,this is
names and ask Task Force members to contact the develop- probably the most important step in the process. It is at this
ment program staff and briefly explain the local BR&E stage that you address the individual concerns of the funis.
Visitation process. Just how you split up the names is Also,you will gain a much better understanding of your
unimportant. Completing the calls is extremely important. Task Force members and local government officials.
The process used for review is as follows:
Localized Factsheets on State and Federal
Programs 1. The Business Resources Coordinator photocopies the
surveys,but omits the cover sheets with the firms'
names and the first page,which includes the
Many BR&E Visitation programs have prepared short(one- employment and products produced. If this
page)factsheets with the names and telephone numbers of information is not removed,the review process
key state and federal program contacts. Some factsheets violates the confidentiality promised to each of the
also give a very short description of the program. Don't let firms during the visits.
this aspect become overwhelming so that nothing is avail-
able. Often state development agencies can help you with 2. At the meeting,divide the Task Force into small groups
this. Your state sponsor also should be able to provide a list of three each. Have each group review three surveys,
of state and federal programs that can meet some of the and be sure that each person in the group reads all three
needs identified by individual firms. In some states,this surveys. Next,have the small groups complete the
information is provided in a format that Volunteer Visitors "Follow-up Worksheets,"which outline the nature of
can use during firm visits. the problems,suggested follow up,and the resource
person who might be able to handle this. An example
of a"Red Flag Follow-up Worksheet"is included in
Mailing Thank You Notes and Localized Appendix A. Your state sponsor may already have a
Factsheets similar worksheet,or you may need to modify the form
to match your state's questionnaire.
The need to mail thank you notes to firms is obvious,and it
provides an opportunity to send the factsheets to them. The 3. The next step is to reconvene the entire Task Force,and
Visitation Coordinator should be able to give you a list of have the small groups report their suggestions to it.
names and addresses of firms visited. It is best to do this The Task Force then either accepts or modifies the ideas
mailing within one or two weeks of the firm visits. This suggested for follow up.
means the factsheet must be ready before the volunteer
training. The review process helps address the immediate concerns of
local firms,and it also helps local leaders understand the
long-term major concerns of firms. These long-term
concerns are addressed formally after the data are fully
tabulated by your state sponsor. By reviewing the indi-
vidual surveys,the Task Force gains a stronger grasp of the
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 9
L R W E
nature of these concerns. This makes it easier for them to Help Other Members of the
use the fifty-to sixty-page report of results later in the Leadership Team
process. It also gives them time to think about various
options for handling the problems that firms mention. As a member of the Leadership Team,you must attend
Leadership Team meetings regularly and familiarize
In early programs,the Business Resources Coordinator
summarized the surveys and then shared the summarized yourself with the roles of other Leadership Team members.
Naturally,as part of the Leadership Team,you also serve on
comments with Task Force members. You should avoid the Task Force. Reading this booklet will provide that
this. This approach is not as good as the direct review. information,so you can help others when they need it.
First,it takes more time for the coordinator to complete.
Second,the Coordinator could be blamed for a message that
other members of the Task Force do not agree with. Third,
Task Force members can claim that the message reflects the Visit Firms
biases and interpretation of the Coordinator. Fourth,
understanding a response to a particular question often is All Leadership Team members visit two firms as part of the
easier if the reviewer can examine the entire questionnaire. practice visits and often visit another one to three firms
during the visitation phase.
Groups that have used the full survey review process have
been very satisfied with it. A primary benefit is the com-
plete ownership of the results of the survey by the Task Arrange the Task Force Retreat
Force. The Task Force also teams to work together.
One of the goals of the program is to develop a strategic
Assign Task Force Members to Follow-up action plans,which outlines the major strategies and projects
In some groups,the Business Resource Coordinator makes that the community will use to encourage the survival and
these decisions and asks people. In other groups,the growth of their existing businesses. In the"red flag"stage,
Leadership Team collectively decides. In other cases,it is your Task Force looked at the problems of individual firms.
done by the entire Task Force or on a volunteer basis,but Here you are trying to set priorities on four to six major
the Business Resource Coordinator keeps track of who is projects that can address the concerns of a large number of
doing what. businesses.
Retreat Agenda
MILESTONE MEETING This meeting(or retreat)is held after your state sponsor has
COORDINATOR completed the tabulation of the survey results. Generally,
the survey results are arranged into three or four common
themes or strategies(concerns with labor recruitment and
If you become the Milestone Meeting Coordinator,you will
help the community organize itself to decide which long- quality,ways to remain cost competitive,community service
issues). Discussion of each theme uses the following
range issues raised in the BR&E Visitation survey can be format:
changed by community action. Once these priorities are set,
you will help facilitate accomplishing the goals. What does t. Review the firm survey results by the researcher.
it take to be an effective Milestone Meeting Coordinator? If 2. Small groups discuss potential projects to react to
you have some experience in planning large events,that can firm concerns.
be helpful. It also is good if you can help groups of people 3. Present suggested projects by researcher.
come to a consensus on what needs to be done. The specific 4. Discuss suggestions offered by the researcher and
things that need to be organized follow: small groups.
5. Nominate and discuss priority projects.
• Help other members of the Task Force. 6. Vote for priority projects.
• Visit firms.
• Arange(including written invitations)for the Task 7. Select one to three people to head up projects.
Force retreat. This format provides an opportunity for the group to both
• Arrange for the implementation resources meeting. learn about the research results and to discuss them in detail.
• Arrange(including invitations)for the Community
Commencement Meeting.
10 — Local Leadership Team Manual
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For each potential strategy,the researcher makes a short no one from the Task Force agrees to call the first meeting,
presentation of the research results,which relate to that you might want to remove this as a priority item.
strategy, first describing the nature of the strategy. Then the
group will be split into small groups(three to five people Many groups set the date for a Task Force meeting after the
each)to discuss the suggested projects and to invent new community meeting as a time when these small groups will
ones. Then each small group will nominate one project for give a progress report and seek additional help from the
the final report. At this stage,all nominations will be Task Force.
recorded on flip charts,but no decisions will be made.
Suggested Agenda for BR&E Task Force Retreat
After all strategies are covered in this fashion,the group has
to decide whether to vote on their final choices at this 9:30 a.m. .........................................Registration and coffee'
meeting or to wait until another meeting. There are advan- 10:00............... Welcome Task Force and introduce program
tages and disadvantages of either choice. Waiting gives you (coordinator)
time to get more people on board,but it also can cause you 10:15 ..................Review of research results from firm visits
to lose momentum. After some discussion,it's best to take a and presentation of strategy one(researcher)
secret ballot on the approach to use. If the group decides to 10:30 ................. In small groups,discuss suggested projects
vote now,each person gets three sticky dots(little round 10:45 .................... Nominate projects related to this strategy
self-adhesive dots available in most business supply stores). 11:00 ......................Review research results for strategy two
Each person then chooses their top three priority projects by (researcher)
placing a dot next to them. The four to six projects with the 11:15 .............. Small group discussion of suggested projects
greatest number of votes are adopted as priorities. It 11:30 ............Nomination of projects related to this strategy
generally takes about four hours(plus any meal time)to 11:45 .................................................................. Lunch break
complete this process,if you do it in one meeting. See next 12:30 p.m........Review of research results for strategy three
column for a suggested agenda. You may want to take extra (researcher)
copies of the section"Who Will Take Charge of Each 12:45 ................. In small groups,discuss suggested projects
Project?"with you to the meeting. It's important that people 1:00..................... Nominate projects related to this strategy
take charge of the various projects that are adopted. Using 1:30...................... Review research results for strategy four
the form provided in Appendix B can help to organize the (researcher)
committee's initial efforts.' 1:45 .................. In small groups,discuss suggested projects
2:00..................... Nominate projects related to this strategy
Who Will Take Charge of Each Project? 2:15........................................... Final discussion and voting
In setting priorities for future BR&E Visitation projects, it is 2:45 ....... Set date for Community Commencement Meeting
important to consider who will do the work. Research has 3:00..........................................................................Adjourn
shown that written plans from BR&E Visitation programs
that include not only who helped develop the project,but
who will work on each specific project are more likely to
experience success. This is because people will agree that Good Attendance at the Retreat
many things ought to be done,as long as someone else is BR&E Visitation Task Forces don't have legislative
willing to do it! An important ingredient to success is to authority or large budgets. Their power comes from the
choose only those projects that a critical mass of local members of the Task Force,which includes people who
leaders have agreed to help implement. have influence in a large number of organizations that do
have budgets and legal authority to impact economic
None of the priority projects will happen if someone from development. Yet,this power can only be realized if the
the BR&E Visitation Task Force isn't able to provide group reaches a consensus on what ought to be done in
leadership to make it happen. At least two or three people economic development. If the attendance at the retreat is
should be on a subcommittee to organize the project over low,it is not possible to credibly claim that the projects
the next four to six months. The committee will often invite represent a consensus of influential community leaders.
another three to six people from outside the BR&E Visita-
tion effort to help them,and that committee may invite
others to become involved at some stage. It depends on the
project. However,someone has to call the first meeting.
You can't expect people who aren't at this retreat to do it. If
Local Leadership Team Manual — 11
B R & E
Select the date and time very carefully so it doesn't
One-day Retreat Versus Two Short Meetings conflict with other community or church events
For best results have the Task Force help pick the date. Be
Why hold a mini-retreat rather than schedule two or three sure that the research will be ready before doing this. If you
shorter meetings? In the past,some Task Forces have held can't get the Task Force together to set the date,use the
two or three two-hour meetings to review the research
Leadership Team to check out possibilities.
results and to set priorities. While these meetings have Send written notices and reminders to the Task Force.
resulted in reports in every case,there has been wide
variation in the implementation of these projects. It appears Establish a telephone tree for calling the Task Force two
that one of the major reasons for the differences in imple- or three days prior to the event
mentation has been the degree to which the community This last suggestion seems like a lot of work,and it is. Yet,
leaders had a shared understanding of the nature of the it's probably the most effective way to ensure attendance. If
concerns. When a shared understanding existed among the you don't get good attendance at this stage,the rest of the
leaders prior to the meetings,this format seems to have been effort is a waste of time.
successful. When it didn't,it resulted in a report but often
with little implementation.
But doesn't the research report provide the data needed for What Kinds of Projects Work?
the group to reach a consensus on the nature of the con- As the person organizing the Task Force retreat you may be
cerns? Yes, it does. However,the three-meeting format asked, `What kinds of projects work?" What follows gives
often resulted in a thirty to fifty percent variation of partici-
pants in them. Thus,a shifting attendance can make it you some guidelines for answering the question. A 1993
impossible to reach a shared consensus. Given the breadth survey of local BR&E Visitation program Leadership Team
of participation,trying to adjust the dates of the second and members in four states asked for information on what
third meetings to meet the schedules of participants is very projects had been adopted and about the overall impacts of
frustrating and often drags it out so much that it kills the program. Using statistical tests on the survey results,
enthusiasm. The solution is to hold a one-day"retreat" Allanach identified five broad types of projects that are
(four hours plus meal time)for the entire Task Force. strongly associated with positive program outcomes. Table
1 lists the types of projects that are associated with strong
programs.
The worst outcome is to have someone who did not attend
the retreat be listed as an author of the recommendations
and then to have that person publicly disavow the projects at Table 1:
the community commencement meeting. BR&E Projects Associated with
Tips for High Attendance at the Retreat. Successful Local BR&E Visitation Programs.
Get a high response rate on the surveys
If the response rate is low,Task Force members may feel Inform Politicians of Business Concerns
guilty about not doing a better job. This guilt will discour- Start a Business/Education Partnership
age some from participating in further stages of the pro- Create a Group to Work on Local Development Issues
gram. While you want to put pressure on the Task Force Inform Businesses about Development Programs
and volunteers to do their visits,be careful not to overdo Continue BR&E Visitation Program
this and inadvertently harm the rest of your program.
After the volunteer training,hold monthly Task Force
meetings until the retreat It should be emphasized that Table 1 is not a recipe,only an
Several meetings are necessary to deal with"red flag" indicator of what has tended to be successful for other
issues. It's useful to have presentations and discussions on communities. It is not necessarily the case that something
specific economic development trends,issues,or programs that tends to work for other communities will work for your
during the retreat. However,never hold a meeting for the community. Each community has unique strengths and
sake of holding one. needs. It is the job of the Task Force to consider the unique
12 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
B R & E
aspects of the community's situation together with the above might not have a lot of the agencies directly in your commu-
information in developing an action plan. It also is quite nity,there are many organizations that have multi-county
likely that your community will develop strategies that do areas for which they are responsible. It pays to identify
not fall under any of the broad categories listed in Table 1. these agencies and invite them to this meeting. Often your
state department of development representatives,regional
economic development professionals from the utilities,or
Arrange the Implementation Resources the extension service can help you identify these resource
Meeti ng9 people.
Most BR&E Visitation Task Forces can't afford to reinvent While this step slows you down in getting to the community
projects or programs that other groups are already doing— commencement meeting where you announce your plans,it
even if the existing projects do not really address the speeds up implementation and achievement of long-term
concerns of the firms visited by your program. Further,if goals.
your Task Force starts a project that another group already
feels it's doing or should be doing,often energy is wasted
on protecting"turf'rather than serving firms. Away around Arrange the Community Commencement
these two problems is to hold an"Implementation Re- Meeting
sources Meeting." At the end of the retreat,ask Task Force
members to identify people or agencies that might be During the community commencement meeting,the survey
working on each of the selected projects. Then invite a findings and projects are presented. This meeting provides
representative from each agency to the"Implementation the opportunity for the community to recognize the"end"of
Resources Meeting." the BR&E Visitation program and the"beginning"of new
Set up a panel of these outside resource people for each of economic development initiatives. Even though the
visitation stage of your BR&E Visitation program has
the priority projects and ask each person ahead of time to concluded,you have just gathered a detailed database about
address the following three questions: your industry and have just announced future BR&E
projects for economic development. The community
1. What is already being done in this project/topic? commencement meeting,therefore,should signify the smart
2. To what extent are current programs reaching the firms
visited? of local initiatives to improve your business climate,not the
end of your economic development efforts. This com-
a. How could your agency/organization and our group mencement meeting marks the end of the firm visitation
collaborate on expanding or starting this type of project
to better reach our funis? and planning stage and also marks the beginning of the
implementation stage(See page 14 for an agenda for the
Ask each agency to prepare a brief(no more than four meeting and tips on how to increase community attendance).
minutes for all three questions)summary on these questions.
Each panel might be given about twenty minutes to address
the above questions. If you have more than three or four
priority projects,you might need to meet more than once.
Invite all of your Task Force members to this meeting—use
a telephone tree to assign Leadership Team members people
to call and invite. Then follow this call with a written
invitation.
At the end of the session,identify at least two Task Force
members to be on the implementation team for each project.
And identify the agencies or groups that might wish to be on
them also.
If you live in a small town,you might think that this idea
will only work in more urbanized areas. Wrong! While you
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 13
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B R & E
Suggested Agenda for the Community Commencement By using this approach,you will demonstrate to the audi-
Meeting ence that the projects belong to the Task Force and not to the
The suggested agenda described below seems most effec- researchers or state sponsor. In fact,the process of prepar-
tive. It was developed after considerable trial and error,and ing and giving this presentation increases the capacity of
it reflects the best elements of several BR&E programs.10 local leaders to promote their projects. It also is an opportu-
nity to recognize key local leaders in the program.
1. Introduce program. (Coordinator- 10 minutes)
2. Review the program's purpose and history. (Leadership Improving Community Commencement Attendance
Team-5 minutes) Some communities may not be able to follow all of these
3. Give Testimonials(business representatives)and/or suggestions because they may have fewer resources than
program accomplishments(Coordinator- 10 minutes) others;nonetheless,the following are strongly recom-
4. Present strategy one(Task Force member A- 10 mended:
minutes)
• Organize and plan the commencement
a. Review concept of strategy. collectively. The Leadership Team,consultant,and
b. Present highlights of survey results. Task Force members must decide as a,group the
c. Summarize the Task Force priority projects. specifics for the community commencement
meeting(date,time,place,format, and audience).
5. Present strategy two(Task Force member B - 10
minutes) Make the commencement meeting social. Have
6. Present strategy three(Task Force member C- 10 the commencement meeting in a banquet room or
minutes) hotel. Send out invitations with RSVPs. Serve
7. Closing remarks(Coordinator) refreshments or a meal. Some groups have hosted
dinners,but this is not essential. Allow time for
Method for Presenting BR&E Strategies mingling and socializing. Although it may seem
This is the most important part of the meeting—the main that the social aspect of the occasion is being
reason for it. The approach has been used in over fifty emphasized more than the content,it really isn't.
programs and has proven very successful and popular. It has been an observation that if you want good
Select one Task Force member(or Leadership Team attendance and attentive guests,you need to make
member)to present each of the strategies in your report. the meeting more than just a meeting to review
Have the Task Force member present(five to ten minutes) results—you need to make it a social event.
the summary report,closely covering three topics:
• Get media coverage. Newspaper articles,radio
a. The overall concept of the strategy. spots,and television coverage before the meeting
b. The survey results related to that strategy. will help increase your attendance because the
c. The projects recommended by the Task Force media coverage gives the event more credibility
related to that strategy. and importance than it would receive otherwise.
Media coverage after the event,however,is
Prepare from one to three overhead transparencies on the probably more likely since there will be more
above points. Be sure the print is legible and large enough "news"to report. Encourage"prior"coverage by
for everyone to see! An example is included in Appendix C. inviting media representatives to the
commencement meeting.
The individuals selected to present the strategies should be
influential in the community,have good public speaking Do not invite a guest speaker or include an
skills,and be willing to report the projects selected by the unrelated controversial topic which will over
group rather than their own personal agendas. Now and shadow the purpose of the ceremony,which is
then a person doing this gets original,giving his/her own reporting the program's findings. One group
personal recommendations rather than,or in addition to, invited a well-known U.S. senatorial candidate to
those of the Task Force. This is to be discouraged,since it's speak at their ceremony as a means of drawing a
confusing and distracting from the projects selected by crowd and media attention. They got a crowd,the
consensus during the Task Force retreat. media,and a campaign speech. Oh yes;he did
congratulate them on doing BR&E,but no one
14 — Local Leadership Team Manual
L
BR & E l
heard about the results of the survey or their program's progress. Media coverage is often most effective
recommendations. if you and other members of the Task Force take time to
establish personal relationships with the news organizations
• Hold a separate community commencement that are targeted to provide coverage of the local BR&E
meeting just for the final report of the BR&E Visitation events. Inviting news organizations to participate
Visitation program,thereby emphasizing it—if in the various events can help you get more effective
this is not practical,it may work to hold the coverage than"after the fact"notification. If you are the
BR&E presentation in conjunction with another Media Coordinator,you have the following responsibilities:
organization's meeting(for example,the Rotary
Club). This arrangement guarantees an audience, Help other members of the Leadership Team.
but it may also present some difficulties because of Visit Firths.
time limits for guest speakers,other items on the Establish contacts with the media.
agenda,or attendance restrictions(members only). Provide copy to media.
Therefore,it is important to obtain adequate time
for the BR&E presentation(about an hour)and to What is actually needed for each of the above items? What
make certain that the meeting will be open to all follows is more detail.
interested persons. If these two adjustments cannot
be made,don't hold it with another group.
Help Other Members of the Leadership
• Even though the industries will receive an Team
invitation,have the volunteers call the industries
they visited to make a more personalized As a member of the Leadership Team,you must attend
invitation. This adds a personal touch to the Leadership Team meetings regularly and familiarize
meeting and increases attendance. yourself with the roles of other Leadership Team members.
Reading this booklet will provide that information,so you
• Do not present the findings and recommenda- can help others when they need it. Naturally,each coordina-
tions prematurely. It takes at least one month for also serves on the Task Force.
between the Task Force"mini-retreat"and the
Community Commencement Meeting to finalize
and print the summary with the recommendations. Visit Firms
During this month,some communities have wanted
to simply share the findings and recommendations All coordinators do at least two practice visits and usually
before the reports are ready. This approach do two or three additional visits during the visitation stage.
weakens the purpose of the community meeting.
If guests attend a similar presentation but do not
receive a report,most of the information they hear Establish Contacts with the Media
will not be retained,and their enthusiasm for the
projects recommended will wane. Providing them The Media Coordinator makes personal contacts with the
with a summary during the ceremony will convey local media to explain the program. Or,as with other
the message of community development more coordinators,this one might arrange for someone else to
effectively. make these contacts. In either case,the media is kept up-to-
date on the progress of the program and invited to attend
any local BR&E events. Often the Media Coordinator
MEDIA COORDINATOR arranges media interviews for the rest of the Leadership
Team.
What is needed to be a good Media Coordinator? If you
have good people skills,you can do this job. You don't provide Copy to Media and Leads to
need to be a good writer or work for a news organization,if
you establish good contacts with media people and explain Radio & TV
the program enthusiastically. To be effective,the Media
Coordinator must be a full participant in Leadership Team There are at least eight stages in the BR&E Visitation
activities,so that media coverage accurately reflects the process when the media might be interested in the program.
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 15
At these stages,news releases can be written. If you wish, Spokesperson for the Leadership Team
you can prepare your own news release. Examples of press
releases the Media Coordinator might prepare and distribute The Overall Coordinator sometimes serves as the project
are included in Appendix D of this booklet. Newspaper spokesman and often is the primary contact for the BR&E
coverage is not the only source of publicity for a BR&E Consultant.
Visitation program. Radio interviews,television coverage,
newsletters,and information bulletins also are excellent
methods of informing the community and state about your TIPS ON GETTING PROJECTS
community's work with local businesses and efforts to
promote economic development. IMPLEMENTED
What is the point of doing all of this work and setting
OVERALL COORDINATOR priorities on projects to improve the local business climate if
few of them are implemented? If this happens,it would
Selection of Overall Coordinator have been better to have gone fishing or something else
enjoyable. This isn't to say that evey last project must be
fully implemented for a BR&E Visitation Program to be
The Overall Coordinator is elected by the other four successful. Many very successful people(and programs)set
coordinators at the end of the orientation program. In many goals that are very high. Yet,if few or none of the projects
cases,the Overall Coordinator also will serve as one of the are implemented,then clearly the BR&E Visitation program
other coordinators. However, in some programs,the is a failure. Here are some tips from both experience and a
coordinators will wish to invite another person for this role. recent research project on how to ensure greater success in
implementation.
Help Other Members of the Leadership Follow Sound Strategic Planning Processes
Team A study of ninety-one BR&E Visitation programs in four
states found that those programs that used basic strategic
As a member of the Leadership Team,you must attend planning guidelines had more success in their implementa-
Leadership Team meetings regularly and familiarize tion than those that did not." If your project follows the
yourself with the roles of other Leadership Team members. approaches outlined in these booklets,your odds of success-
Reading this booklet will provide that information,so you fully implementing your projects improves. Table 2
can help others when they need it. Naturally,each coordina- summarizes the results of statistical tests on the relationship
for also serves on the Task Force. between the degree of implementation and strategic plan-
ning characteristics.`'-
Visit Firms
As a member of the Leadership Team,you also go on
practice visits as well as visit firms after the volunteer
training.
Convene Leadership Team Meetings
This person is responsible for convening the Leadership
Team for their meetings and for announcing the Task Force
meetings.
16 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
B R & E
Table 2: Set up a special implementation panel.
Factors Influencing the Degree of BR&E Project Some BR&E Task Forces set up a smaller panel that takes
Implementation explicit responsibility for the implementation. Often they
will involve other local leaders as needed.
Meet at least quarterly to monitor implementation.
Adoption of strategic planning methods in the BR&E If the BR&E Visitation Task Force does not meet at least
Visitation Program,(i.e. it validated the methods used quarterly to review the progress on their projects,there is
in these booklets) unlikely to be significant progress. While many of the
projects can and should be spun off to other groups,the Task
Listing of the individuals who will take responsibility Force needs to keep an eye on them. Further,the Task
for implementation in the BR&E public reports Force represents a much broader-based group than most
others in the community. Continued dialogue among the
Length of time since the completion of the report Task Force members can facilitate communications among
the local groups represented on the Task Force.
Participation in the implementation meetings after the
report is prepared Set date for first quarterly meeting before community
commencement meeting.
Adequate budget(average was$2,500) Groups that set the date for the first meeting tend to actually
hold the meeting. Those that don't have a meeting date set
Full-time professionals in some community often never have their first one.
organization who continuted to work on implementa-
tion(average was 1.1 professionals per program). Plan each quarterly meeting well.
Community leaders don't need more useless meetings. If
the first one is poorly planned,it will hurt attendance at the
rest. If it is well done and the committees have been given
enough notice so they are prepared,enthusiam and results
Specific tips for improving your odds of implementing your will follow.
priority projects follow.
Contact committee between
From the beginning,stress that the BR&E Visitation quarterly meeting of Task Force.
program is a two-or three-year project. If the committees don't meet periodically between the
In some of the older programs,the BR&E Visitation quarterly meetings,little will happen at these quarterly
program was described as a six-to nine-month project. meetings. Often the lack of progress between meetings
Thus,Task Force members expected they could resign after results in the group feeling powerless to change things and
the community commencement ceremony. Yet,other attendance will drop off,but who will make the contacts
groups will seldom implement a plan that they did not have between meetings? The Leadership Team.
a hand in developing. At the end of the planning phase,
there may be some shifting of Task Force members,but if Elect a New Leadership Team at the first
the initial group completely disbands,not much will be quarterly meeting.
implemented. While you and the others on the Leadership Team might
wish to continue in this role for three years,you also might
In the BR&E Retreat,ask Task Force Members to not. It is suggested that only half of the Leadership Team be
indicate one of the projects on which they will work. replaced at the first quarterly meeting,i.e.add two new
After voting for priority projects,ask each Task Force members. It is better not to shift the entire team since this
member to write their name beside one of the high priority will lead to problems in continuity.
projects on which they are willing to work over the next
couple of years. Then have all those on the same project Keep in Touch with Your State Sponsor.
get together and develop an action plan. Since they won't As your implementation plans go forward,you will likely
have time to complete the plan at the meeting,ask each come across some unexpected hurdles. Use your BR&E
group to designate a"convener"of the next meeting and Consultant and/or State Sponsor as a kind of help line to
also a"note taker." This approach not only gets some identify other groups in the state that have successfully
tangible plans underway it clearly sends the message that overcome similar problems.
this group is responsible for the implementation.
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 17
B R
Invite regional and state agency personnel to your
quarterly meetings.
Communities with the best track records in economic
development are shameless in taking full advantage of the
various development programs offered by state and federal
governments or by educational institutions. Invite represen-
tatives of these groups to your quarterly meetings so they
can team about your BR&E projects. Often they might be
able to volunteer help in ways you would never dream of
even asking for. Also ask them to describe one or two of
their programs. Once you team of their programs,you
might see connections to your priority projects that you
were simply unaware of previously.
Distribute one-page outline of projects often.
Most projects have a fifty-page research report and an eight-
page summary. Few people read either of these often.
Some of the most effective projects have condensed it to
one page that outlines the priority projects and people on the
committees. This one-page summary can be distributed
early and often. It serves both as a reminder of the projects
and who to contact if you can help or have an idea."
Keep publicizing your program.
As you implement a project,let the world know about it.
This rewards the volunteers who put in time and often helps
establish your community as a place"on-the-go."
18 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
B R & E
APPENDIX A: RED FLAG FOLLOW-UP WORKSHEET
Survey ID Number:
Date of Review:
Red Flag Follow-Up Worksheet
Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Program
What is the problem? What official or agency should
What is your suggestion look into it? Which BR&E
for handling it? Visitation Task Force member
How urgent is it? should take charge of this issue?*
MOVING/CLOSING?
Is the firm moving or closing?
When? Why?
Can anything be done to change this?
See page_,question_
EXPANSION?
Can the Task Force remove any
local bottlenecks?
See page_,questions
PUBLIC SERVICES
Can the Task Force help improve
the important ones with weaknesses?
See page_,questions
*While one Task Force member needs to make the initial contacts and monitor the assistance provided by other agencies and
officials,the BR&E Visitation Task Force members do not need to do all the follow-up on their own. The most successful
groups take full advantage of those state and federal programs that can help local firms.
(Special Note: Before using this worksheet,you should fill in the page and question numbers that refer to each issue.)
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 19
R &
€y
.ti� ,iyr ✓�..- J
Red Flag Follow-Up Worksheet (Continued)
Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Program
What is the problem? What official or agency should
What is your suggestion look into it? Which BR&E
for handling it? Visitation Task Force member
How urgent is it? should take charge of this issue?*
INFORMATION REQUESTS
Can the Task Force steer the firm to
the relevant agency or official?
See page_,question_
LABOR CONCERNS
Who can assist on labor concerns'?
See page_,questions
PROBLEMS WITH
STATEXEDERAL PROGRAMS
Can the Task Force help improve
the important ones with weaknesses?
See page_,questions
OTHER CONCERNS
Review entire survey for
"red flags"that need
urgent attention.
20 — Local Leadership Team Manual
SBR & E
L {; r " : �
APPENDIX B: IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHEET (Example from Ritchie County, WV)
Action Plan for Attaining Goals
A short title for this activity is: Employee Training/Education Date:10125195
The long-term goal for this activity is: To help improve the basic skills of the workforce in Ritchie County
The short-term goal for this activity is: To communicate the needs of the business communi{v with school
administrators
The expected outcome of the activity is: Improved communication and cooperation between schools and businesses
concerning the basic needed skills
The start date is:November 1995 The completion date is:ongoing. repeated process
The What, Who, and When of This Activity
What(task to be done) Who from Task Force? Who Else? When(to be completed)
(1) A decision and recommendation John Jones A committee representing 2-4 months
of which basic skills needed Paula Smith the Chamber of Commerce,
to be improved following dis- the Economic Development
cussions with county businesses, Authority and interested
classroom teachers,school community partners
improvement counselors
(2) Make a presentation and report Committee chair upon completion
to School Board and other and members of Task#1
community partners
(3) Help implement a short-term School teachers/non- winter or spring
training program for existing credit program 1996
employees personnel provide
training
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 21
B R & E
APPENDIX B (Continued)
Resource Requirements and Commitments
Resources Needed Resources Promised Potential Resources
(labor,S,consultants, (what resource,who will (type of resource,source)
equipment,etc.) supply,when supplied)
community representatives Community Economic
of various interest groups Development grant money
funds to reimburse teachers
resource expertise of university
non-credit program—Dave Winger
Participants in this strategy:
Tom McCullough,Lewis Cottrill,Shorty Bumgardner,Carl Alkire, Doug Jackson,and Dick Hartley(facilitator)
Other potential members:
Jean Westfall and Ray Jones.
Are there other groups that might be working on this? If so,which ones?
22 — Local Leadership Team Manual
L R & E
APPENDIX C: SAMPLE OVERHEAD FOR
COMMUNITY COMMENCEMENT MEETING
(example drawn from Nobles County, Minnesota)
Strategy Three :
Develop Initiatives to Support Existing
Business, Service, and Manufacturing Firms
Overview
60 -80% Net growth due to existing firms
Industrial recruitment depends on happy existing firms
Key Survey Findings
80% of firms say Nobles County is excellent to good place
to do business
One larger firm considering moving and 47 expanding
Expected net gain in jobs = 290
Task Force Recommendations
1) COUNTYWIDE MANUFACTURER'S NETWORK
2) COUNTYWIDE MARKETING STRATEGY
3) CONTINUE BR&E EMPHASIS
4) MAINTAIN BALANCED ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Local Leadership Team Manual — 23
BR & E
APPENDIX D: SAMPLE PRESS RELEASES
NEWS RELEASE: APPLYING FOR THE PROGRAM
Instructions: Simply fill in names of local leaders, cities, etc. Revise the rest of the text as necessary.
(sponsoring agency)has applied for acceptance to a state economic development program,according to nam ,
president of(sponsoring agency) . The program,the Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Program,is designed to
stimulate economic development and growth by assisting existing industry. The program is sponsored by the (name of state
sponsor) .
"Helping our existing firms is the primary objective of the program. This program differs from other business retention and
expansion efforts in that the(name of snonsor)provides extensive technical and research assistance. Other communities
have had very good results with this program,"said(coordinator)-of (cL . If the application is accepted,the program
will begin in month according to (coordinator) . He/she expects to hear from the research team in a few weeks.
"While our community has done a Business Retention and Expansion Program in e r ,we have never done one as large
and with as much research and technical assistance as this one. Before applying for this program we talked to community
leaders in several other areas that have used this particular approach to business retention and expansion. They were very
positive about the results,"said (member ofLeadership Team) .
For example,in (name o community) the BR&E Visitation Program lead to:
(outline the sped c example of success based on the telephone interviews).
Another example of the benefits of this approach to business retention and expansion was given by leaders in nam
counCE or region) . One of their successes was(outline the success). According to(name of BR&E state sponsor)
before a community can assist its existing industry it must identify the industry's needs,concerns,and problems. Under the
BR&E Visitation,local volunteers visit businesses and gather this information. The local leaders running this program then
try to solve those problems or better meet those needs identified by the businesses. "A key aspect of this program is confi-
dentiality,"according to (extension educator) . "We do not publish any information on individual firms. The program is
very careful about this confidentiality issue."
The information gathered from the visits is compiled and analyzed at the(name of research organization) . The (coordi-
nator and the Task Force members review this analysis and then write recommendations for future economic development
initiatives for(name ofcommunity or county) . "One of the reasons for the popularity of the program is that it not only
provides a long range plan for the community,but also yields some short range tangible results,"said (name of BR&E state
ons r .
24 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
BR & E
k
NEWS RELEASE: BEING ACCEPTED INTO THE PROGRAM
Instructions: Simply fill in names of local leaders, cities, etc. Revise as necessary.
(name of community or count%) will be implementing a local economic development program early next year,according to
(—name) ,the program's local coordinator.
The county's application for the Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Program was accepted by the name o
organization sponsoring BR&E technical assistance),which sponsors this economic development program.
(`Insert a quote m the sponsoring agency about its enthusiasm for the program or the potential benefits, such as creating
jobs. keeping industry, and improving the business climate),"-said (name and title of local leaderL. The program fee is
and is being paid by (name of local sponsor) .
The main objective of the BR&E program is to assist existing businesses within the county to become more competitive,
according to (name of BR&E state sponsor), providing guidance to the local program. According to (last name state
sponsor), helping firms become more competitive increases the chances of those firms staying and expanding in the
community; hence, the name of the program.
(name of consultant) said that the focus of the program is on assisting existing businesses rather than attracting new ones
because existing businesses account for about 70 percent of all new jobs.
To assist existing businesses, _(number volunteers,who will be selectively recruited and briefed about the program during
the next several months,will visit about (number) local manufacturers and service businesses in(months) to gather
information. The volunteers will use a ten-page questionnaire prepared to identify,among other items,the businesses'needs,
criticisms,and concerns about the county. This information is reviewed by a local task force of community leaders who will
try to solve these problems.
Other local leaders serving on the Leadership Team are: (names and titles of local leaders) . The Task Force includes the
following community leaders:(names and titles of community leaders.
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 25
B R & E
NEWS RELEASE: TRAINING VOLUNTEERS
(number of participants) community leaders met at the (name of meeting site)on ( av of week or date)to prepare for
the community's economic future. The two-hour meeting was the formal kick-off of a local Business Retention and Expan-
sion Visitation Program sponsored by(name of the sponsor(s) .
This program is receiving technical and research support from the (name of organization) The (day of week)night's
orientation program was lead by (name of consultant) ,a Certified BR&E Master Consultant,certified by Business Reten-
tion and Expansion International.
"Existing firms are the best sources of growth. We want to find out how we can help them to grow in our community. We
have an excellent team in place to work on this and expect excellent results",said (coordinator) ,coordinator of the local
program.
The program is designed to stimulate economic development by assisting existing industry,according to (name and title).
(same name) pointed out that to assist industry,a community must first identify industries'needs and problems and then
address those concerns to improve the local business climate.
The volunteer visitors will be visiting (number)local manufacturers between now and (final target date). During each
visit,each team of two volunteers will use a ten-page questionnaire to gather information about each business. The two
training sessions last night were held to help prepare the volunteer visitors for their interviews.
("Ouote from a volunteer about what he/she learned from the training sessions or his/her opinion of the program after the
training or about his/her participation in the proiect.")said name ,one of the volunteer visitors.
During the training,volunteers viewed a videotape documentary about one of the first counties to complete the BR&E
Visitation Program. They also asked questions of name ,coordinator of coup County's BR&E program via telecon-
ference. They also reviewed the questionnaire in detail.
(coordinator)emphasized that the information gathered through the surveys will be strictly confidential.
("Quote from coordinator about the his/her expectations of the progLam or the results and recommendations at the end.")
name said.
26 — Local Leadership Team Manual
B R & E
NEWS RELEASE: VISITING LOCAL BUSINESSES
Beginning this week, (number,)county industries will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions about the local
economy and local state government as (sponsor) starts an economic development program.
The (name of area,L Business Retention and Expansion Program officially begins this week as trained volunteers meet with
local industries to identify their needs and concerns,ask their opinions about local and state government,and determine in
what ways the local business climate can be improved.
"The visits we are doing with local firms have four purposes"said(name of local leader) . "First we want to show our local
businesses that we really appreciate the contributions they are making to our local community. Second,we want to see if
they have any local concerns,and, if so,if there are any ways we can help. Third,we will be offering to help our local firms
take better advantage of state and federal business programs. Finally,we want the businesses to help us set priorities on
future directions of local economic development efforts."
The (local sponsor)is the local sponsor,while the (name of organization,) is the state sponsor.
("Quote from the coordinator about the putpose of the intervietivs. or the importance ofindustries cooperating to make the
program success i<l.") (name„)said.
Since 1986,at least fifteen states have developed programs similar to this one. Business Retention and Expansion Interna-
tional,an association for the advancement of business retention and expansion,was established in 1994 to encourage commu-
nities to work with their existing businesses. The(name of'state organization providing technical assistance/research
sport to BR&E) has helped number) of communities develop programs in(name ofyour state) .
Local Leadership Team Manual -- 27
B R & E
NEWS RELEASE: FOLLOW UP
Instructions: This news release is not fully developed because follow-up work or success stories can follow many different
channels. A few leads are provided to give you ideas about an article.
The president of(business)announced today that he will not relocate his plant to South Dakota,but will expand here,
creating an estimated (number
) jobs because of (cite reason.
The superintendent of the vocational school introduced at last night's meeting a revised training curriculum to
better meet the needs of local industry. (This might occur if businesses complain that they have difficulty employing ad-
equately trained workers.)
A traffic light will be installed at the intersection of and as a result of a local development effort,
according to name . (This might occur if a business complains that the intersection is hazardous for its truckers,which
increases its insurance premiums.)
A Department of Development official spoke about labor-management relations at a seminar series that began last night at
lace . (This might occur if the task force,in response to a large number of firms wanting more information about labor-
management relations or some other topic, forms a seminar series or breakfast forums featuring speakers from the state
government,regional organizations,and the private sector.)
These business assistance programs stemmed from feedback received when(number) local firms were visited through the
Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Program. The program was sponsored locally by (name of sponsor) and
received technical and research assistance from the(name ofstate organization providing technical assistance/research
support to BR&E) .
NEWS RELEASE: COMMUNITY COMMENCEMENT MEETING
Instructions: This news release is not fully developed because the f nal meetings vary considerably in format and content.
Two leads seem obvious: either start with the number of people attending or start with the most important or interesting
finding or recommendation that is presented at the meeting(sample leads are provided). The remainder of the news release
should describe the results and recommendations of the program and quotes from the principal leaders as to the success of
the program. Some groups simply share their report with the media early with the understanding that no releases will occur
until after the community meeting. Others have used press conferences just prior to the meeting.
More than(number) people attended the coup County business retention and expansion meeting last night at the
lace according to(coordinator) ,coordinator of the BR&E program and organizer of the event.
More than 80 percent of the local industries consider oun County to be an excellent or good place to do business,
according to the results of a recent survey.
Four out of every five industries in coun County want (list most importantfinding. why it is important, and what the
task_force recommends) .
28 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
RESEARCH CITED AND END NOTES
'BR&E Consultants will find related materials in Chapters 6,7,8,9 and 10 in Morse,George W.,BREI Consultant's Guide-
book: Course for the Certification of BR&E Master Consultants. Department of Applied Economics, University of Minne-
sota, 1996.
z Smith,Thomas R.,George W.Morse and Linda M.Lobao, 1992,"Measuring Impacts of Business Retention and Expansion
Visitation Programs,"Journal of the Community Development Society, V61.23.No. 1,pp. 135-139.
' Smith,Morse,and Lobao,op. cit.,pp. 127-128.
This"red flag"review process is sometimes called the"bete/Hileman Red Flag Review Process"after John Dete and Dale
Hileman,who developed this approach into a useful tool. If you want more information on the approach,read Chapter 11 in
The Retention and Expansion of Existing Business, (G,Morse Ed.),Iowa State University Press, 1990.
'The process described here follows general principles set forth in Bryson,John M., 1988,Strategic Planning for Public and
Nonpublic Organization. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.
'This form is an adaption of the Ohio State University form. See Black, Kathleen,David Patton,and Jerold Thomas, 1987,
"Action Planning." The Ohio State University Extension Retention and Expansion Program,Columbus,Ohio,OSU Exten-
sion Publication 007.
'While this example runs from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm,these retreats have been run at all times of day. The Leadership Team
decides on the best time.
sAllanach,Christopher, 1995,"The Market for and Impacts of Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Programs."
Master's Thesis,Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota.
9 Elizabeth Templin,Minnesota Extension Service of BRE,Certified Consultant and Irene Rodriguez,Coordinator of the St.
Paul University Ave.BR&E Project developed this approach.
t0 Eric Norland,Ohio Corporate Extension Service Education,developed this approach.
" Morse,George W.,and Inhyuck Ha, 1995,"How Successful are BR&E Implementation Efforts? A Four State Example,"
Department of Applied Economics,University of Minnesota,Staff Paper P95-13.
"Adapted from Morse and Ha,op. cit.
13 Sue Engelmann,Minnesota Extension Service Educator,developed this idea and used it very effectively in her program.
30 -- Local Leadership Team Manual
BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION VISITATION PROGRAM
For More Information Contact:
BR&E International
http://www.brei.org
George Morse
Department of Applied Economics
University of Minnesota
1994 Buford Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108-6040
e-mail: gmorse@dept.agecon.umn.edu
Scott Loveridge
West Virginia University Extension Service
404 Knapp Hall, P.O. Box 6031
Morgantown, WV 26506-6031
e-mail: LOVRIDG@wvnvms.wvnet.edu
Western Rural Development Center o Northeast Regional Center for
Oregon State University Rural Development
g tY �'
Ballard Extension Hall 307 7 Armsby Building
Corvallis,OR 97331-3607 00� ��® The Pennsylvania State University
(503) 737-3621 oQo ®® University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-4656
North Central Regional Center Programs of
for Rural Development the regional Southern Rural Development Center
317 East Hall rural Box 9656 - 6 Montgomery Drive
Iowa State University development Mississippi State University
Ames, IA 50011-1070 centers are Mississippi State, MS 39762-9656
(515) 294-8321 available (601) 325-3207
equally
to all people.
Q pd-b�
TIF Certification
Certify before June 30, 2009, with revisions to the TIF Plan by holding a public hearing,
( Vv use ft 2009 tax values. Delay until 2011
P47-foto
Delay of increment starts at date of approval of the TIF District (April 2006), not at time
of request of certification. It is not how we were thinking it was going to work out, but as
we reviewed the new statute this is what we found out.
Certify after June 30, 2009, but before July 24, 2009. No revisions to the plan needed,
use 1y 2010 tax values. Starts 2011.
PAS dotk
The difference is the tax values for pay 2009 and 2010. The concern is that the tax value
for pay 2010 will be higher. Staff has disu � with the City Assessor Frank Langer and
he stated that the tax values for#W/ k011'e either the same or lower.
OAPW P&k a of I �V
Staffs opinion is just waiting until after June 30, 2009. It ends up being the same result
as if the City certified the district before June 30th, with the revisions to delay until 2011.
However, the City should request certification before July 24, 2009 to be able to
reimburse itself for the demolition of the properties across from City Hall.
If comfortable with this make a recommendation to the City Council for their74-9'T
meeting.
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Rachel
From: Michelle Beck, DVM [michellebeckdvm@pawspethospital.com]
Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2009 3:58 PM
To: Rachel
Subject: P.A.W.S. Pet Hospital - June PAWprint Press
AW P.A.W.S.Pet HOSP tal
PAWPrint Press
Volume 1.Issue 3
Pet Hospital lune Zoog
Hospital Plan & Progress
Plans to open the hospital
are progressing nicely. This
past month we secured Small V
Business Administration and ` ,
the bank financing we need
to move forward. While the
economy is still challenging,
we are seeing signs that
things are improving. The
bankers are excited about
our project and have been Inside this issue:
very Helpful to us.
Our architect, Finn-Daniels, has submitted dravuings and details for the hospital to the City of Hugo. Achieving a Fit
Over the next 6 weeks we will be working through the planning and approval processes with the city. Pet
Because we are building inside Victor Gardens extra steps are needed to make sure our project fits
nicely within the French-Mediterranean style of the community. Everyone in Hugo has been Bug Bite
supportive and Hugo really is a great place to start a business. Reactions
P.A W.S. has selected Len Pratt to build our hospital. Len's companies have a great deal of
experience building both cornmercial offices as well as many fine homes in the Hugo area. Len has Is My Pet In Pain?
assembled an excellent team to complete our project and we are looking forward to getting started
with construction. Look for an announcement of a groundbreaking date in July's newsletter!
While there are lots of details to work through and challenges ahead,we continue to anticipate Kids Corner
opening this vVinter. Meanwhile, please check out our website and send us a photo of your pet that
we can post.
Please forward this newsletter on to others who may be interested in our services. Your support
means a great deal to us and v4e really appreciate your help and recommendations. job.,
Y� •
i
Achieving a Fit Pet
There are lots of things to think aboutwhen trying to keep our
]i pets fit. While living busy lives,we must rernernber,foods and r,
feeding patterns that are easiest on us are not always best for
our pets. There are lots of things to consider for maintaining an
individual pets weight that often are overlooked.
Click here to read full article
Bug Bite Reactions
You are outside in your garden getting new flowers in and your four-legged friend helping you starts
rolling around and nudging at you. You turn and look and your husky Arnarok's nose has been
replaced with a Sharpei nose....."I told you not to play with bees...."
Click hereto read full article...
Iq MU PPA In Pain?
Czar Nicholas
suggests...
Take your dog to Otter
Lake Regional Park's
Dog Park. We Love it!
On Otter Lake Road
6/8/2009
between County Road J
Sometimes subtle changes in what your pets are doing indicate that and County Road H2.
they may not be feeling well. 7*A Since they protect themselves by not looking vulnerable, sometimes it is t
difficult for those who see them every day to tell that something is going
on that is not making them comfortable. `
Click here to read full article.., a.
Kids Corner Sadie and Avery,
Russell, &Arlo Allen
By Sadie Allen, Age 3
We got our cat, Russell,from our cousins.They were allergic to him.
He is 12 years old. He's white and brown and black. Sometimes he goes crazy. Once he bit me. I
love him!
By Avery Allen, Age 9
Our dog Arlo is 14 years old and is a black lab mix. He has had some tough times, but he is now
really healthy.
Arlo can be really goofy. Here is an example.Around Christmas-tirne when I was 5, my mom and I
made a gingerbread house.We went to run a few errands while the icing on the gingerbread dried. ?:
We arrived back home about an Flour later. My morn walked in the house and came back outwith)
her mouth wide open."You don't want to go in there,"she told roe. I have to admit that sornetirnes I
do the exact opposite of what my mom tells me to do, so I walked straight in and my mouth fletiv
open too. It turned out that Arlo had gotten onto the table and destroyed most of the gingerbread
house.There were peppermint candies and gumdrops all over the floor. He even hid pieces of it in ,
the carpeted basement and covered it up with toys. NowthatArlo is older, he doesn't get into
trouble anymore. He is the best, and I love having him around.
Editor's n ote:After t,•'.1bn Vss on,AIG.got into a box of dog bones tea&g it to pieces...SO much"or
no r-nore trout e. Ha, rid+
Dr. Michelle Beck, DVM P.A.W.S. Pet Hospital, PLLC Hugo, Minnesota www.PAWSPetHospital.com 651.428.5193
6/8/2009