Laserfiche WebLink
B) Community Assessment, Workforce and Educational Institution Analysis - Analyze strengths, <br />weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the local and regional economy. The review will include <br />social, demographic, economic and physical factors, including but not limited to, the following: <br />a. Existing and planned infrastructure; <br />b. Residential housing growth and development; <br />c. Existing economic base and competitive advantages; <br />d. Local land and building availability; <br />e. Locations for commercial and competitive assets; <br />f. Special incentives for economic growth; <br />g. Comparative analysis of benchmarks communities; and <br />h. Evaluation of local and regional labor characteristics, market trends, employment <br />development resources, and workforce training opportunities. <br />C) Cluster, Location Quotient, Target Industry and Operational Analysis – Shall be provided to <br />include identification of: <br />a. Specific industries and business types that consider strengths, weaknesses, opportunities <br />and thread constraints; <br />b. Needed improvements and actions that will accelerate business attraction and recruitment <br />of such development; <br />c. State, federal or other programs programs that will be developed or implemented including <br />but not limited to: entrepreneurial development, business incubation and strategies for any <br />special new industries; <br />d. The potential impact of events, venues and other tourist attractions on Elk River from <br />surrounding areas and the impact of city events. <br />e. The role of retail within the community and provide for a business diversification analysis. <br />Determine the best practices to diversify the tax base to offset property tax and <br />unpredictable sales tax collection due to a changing dynamic of the retail industry; and <br />f. Existing local, regional and statewide economic development organizations to determine <br />how best to leverage their resources. <br />D) Assessment of city’s economic development structure and comparison to other economic <br />development organizations. In areas of overall roles and responsibilities; organizational structure <br />and funding; economic development tools utilized; role of expenditures on planned infrastructure <br />on capital projects; and appropriate niche role in financially supporting economic development <br />ventures, such as infrastructure development, tax incentives, property acquisition, and speculative <br />construction to encourage target businesses/industries. <br />E) Incentive program – Recommend an incentive policy and program to include: <br />a. Incentives currently used in targeting preferred industries and businesses. <br />b. The incentive policies of regional competitors. <br />c. Feasibility of incentives for “green” initiatives, advanced technology initiatives. <br />d. Feasibility of incentives for speculative development particular types of spaces such as <br />office, industrial, start-up/co-working, entrepreneurial centers, etc. <br />e. Approaches to promote mixed-use nodes for appropriate development. <br />f. Approaches and incentives for development specific to downtown, infill, or other <br />specifically identified target areas. <br />