A two-part proposal to gather data and develop a retail recruitment plan was recently approved by the Carroll City Council. In a partnership with the Carroll Area Development Corporation (CADC), the city will contract with RDG Planning and Design Group for a U.S. Highway 30 Corridor Plan at a cost of $60,000. The CADC will then contract for development of retail initiatives and the retention of a retail coach. The city will help support that estimated $97,000 annual cost with $50,000 per year for three years. Councilman, Jerry Fleshner, asked CADC Executive Director, Shannon Landauer, how this plan will work in concert with existing businesses. She says they will work with Carroll’s retail stock and provide ideas on how they can move into the future and then identify gaps, putting together a plan on how to fill them. Now, she says, is the time to act. Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver, says this is about building on retail successes. In the first phase, RDG will help develop a unified Highway 30 corridor plan, focusing on empty physical spaces in the community as well as retail gaps.
Pogge-Weaver believes this is just the beginning of their investment as the city can expect to add incentives to attract businesses. Councilman, LaVern Dirkx, says he was initially against the proposal because there have been too many times commissioned data is either underutilized or never used at all. However, this, he says, is more than just data.
Clay Haley and Carolyn Siemann both told Landauer they understand the need for confidentiality when negotiating. However, both also want to ensure there is as much transparency as possible and that RDG and the retail coach provide routine updates on progress toward the identified goals. Pogge-Weaver says this communication is critical as it will take community engagement.
Dirkx adds that in the long-run, this will also benefit the entire county. Funding for the plan and coach will come from Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) proceeds. Full audio of this discussion can be found below.
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Full audio of discussion on U.S. Highway 30 corridor plan, retail retention initiative and retail coach: