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a. Assessment of the resources, business attraction targets and existing employment base; <br />b. Assessment of independent business/start-ups in the community; <br />c. Identification of general training needed to improve the skills of the local workforce to <br />meet existing and potential employment needs. <br />d. Research of growth plans for regional educational institutions and vocational programs and <br />the provision of strategies for ways to include graduates and non -graduates in the local <br />workforce; <br />e. Provide strategies for programs in areas such as green development opportunities, start-up <br />businesses or incubation program, downtown business district to encourage particular <br />types of development, retail, professional services, research and development, higher <br />education and trade and distribution; <br />f. Assess and provide strategies for business and industrial park development within city and <br />surrounding areas that may impact Elk River's economy, such as marketing existing and <br />planned developments, and identification of potential future needs for locations, and <br />speculative commercial building construction, including discussion of public-private <br />partnership methodologies to achieve the same; <br />g. Provide strategies for addressing any infill or redevelopment and any "brownfield" or <br />"grayfield" sites with potential constraints. This should include discussion of funding <br />approaches, public-private partnerships and other means not only to mitigate their effects <br />but also to turn such sites into successful developments. <br />h. Assess feasibility of development of Elk River as a convention and tourism destination, <br />and provide strategies as appropriate for development of required assets such as hotels, <br />multipurpose facility space, along with promotional themes and marketing activities to <br />attract targeted industries. <br />i. Incorporation of strategies into a 10 -year economic development implementation plan that <br />includes the provision of an immediate course of action and short-term, mid-term, and <br />long-term action plans that include benchmarks, needed resources, timelines, goals and <br />metrics with realistic and achievable milestones to facilitate the creation of implementation <br />of recommended economic development program(s). <br />j. Provision of budget and implementation schedule for economic development program(s). <br />K) Meetings — The consultant will conduct meetings as follows: <br />a. Initial staff meetings for organizational, technical and substantive issues. <br />b. Initial meetings with community representatives to discuss issues of concern. <br />e, Public surveys, targeted focus group and meetings to obtain citizen input at the outset of <br />the strategic work. <br />d. Ongoing review and discussion of drafts with city staff. <br />e. Presentation of draft strategic plan components to the EDA. <br />f. Presentation of draft strategic plan at public meetings and final adoption. <br />L) Final Document Format — The successful consultant will provide one (1) original and a thumb <br />drive of both the draft and final version of the Strategic Plan in hard copy, in electronic format <br />acceptable to the EDA (i.e. DOC, and .PDF), and web -ready electronic format acceptable to the <br />EDA. The successful consultant will create all associated maps in a city -approved geographical <br />