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• NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT <br />FOR THE CITY OF ELK RIVER, MINNESOTA <br />By Lee Colby, Lee Colby and Associates <br />.and Sandy Bower, Training Networks <br />OVERVIEW <br />As the City of Elk River becomes an outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan <br />area, it faces the normal challenges of any rapidly growing organization --initiating, <br />implementing and adjusting to changes. For cities this often means responding to increasing <br />demands for service without raising taxes. <br />Elk River intends to encourage economic growth while maintaining its attractive "small <br />town" quality, and the municipal services are the primary transmitter of that message. <br />Responding to recent informal feedback from individual developers and the Elk River <br />Chamber of Commerce, the City has undertaken an examination of the internal processes <br />that impact the economic development of the city. <br />This needs assessment is a first step in gaining a broad perspective on the processes that <br />deliver economic development services, such as the applications, Concept Review, <br />inspections, permitting,. regulations, hearings and various communication processes. <br />NEEDS ASSESSMENT PARTICIPANTS <br />The needs assessment involved four groups of people: <br />1. Individual interviews with six City department managers and the City <br />Administrator <br />2. Two focus groups with City support staff and two representatives from the <br />municipal utility. <br />3. Four business developers and contractors from the Chamber of Commerce <br />. 4. Five business people who have worked with the City in the past five years in <br />