CR 96-08 Strategic Plan Economic DevelopmentJanuary 8, 1996
Proposed Action
STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Council Report 96 -08
Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: Move to accept the revised Strategic Plan
for Economic Development for the City of Hopkins.
Approval of this action will finalize revisions and modifications that have been made to the City's
Strategic Plan for Economic Development over the past six to eight months.
Overview
The City's first Strategic Plan for Economic Development was adopted in 1992. At that time, it
was anticipated that upon completion of an approximately two -year time period, the Strategic
Plan would be revised in order to reflect changes, which may have occurred, that could affect the
City's strategic efforts in economic development. With this in mind, a Strategic Plan Review
Committee was formed early in 1995, and undertook the task of revising and modifying the
original Strategic Plan document.
Revisions and modifications have been completed, and staff is requesting and that the Council
accept the revised Strategic Plan for Economic Development.
This item was continued in November 1995 in order to solicit further input from the public.
Primary Issues to Consider
o What has been done to induce public input on the Plan?
o What are the major revisions that have been suggested by the Strategic Plan Review
Committee?
o What is the future process?
Supporting Documents
o Revised Strategic Plan
Paul T. Steinman
Community Development Specialist
Council Report 96 -08
Page 2
Primary Issues to Consider
o What has been done to induce public input on the Plan?
The intent of this meeting on January 16 is to provide an opportunity for the public to
comment on the revised Plan prior to action being taken on this issue
You will recall that this item was continued in November 1995 in order to attempt to solicit
further input from the public. A memo was mailed to the Committee members again, asking
that they solicit input from their respective organizations on the revised Plan and bring this
information forward at the Council meeting on January 16
o What are the major revisions that have been suggested by the Strategic Plan Review
Committee?
As can be seen in the revised Strategic Plan, the five major issues identified in the original plan
have been retained. These issues are:
Business Retention/Recruitment
Neighborhoods
County Road 3
Mainstreet
Citywide Image
It was discussed by the Strategic Plan Review Committee that the major economic
development issues facing the City of Hopkins have not changed significantly since inception
of the Strategic Plan. Goals and supporting action steps under each of these major issues were
modified, however, to reflect specific changes in the economic development environment. The
plan also was revised to reflect action steps that may have been undertaken and fully
accomplished since adoption of the original Strategic Plan.
The addition of a sixth major issue, Youth/Family, to the Strategic Plan created a significant
amount of discussion among the Review Committee. A description of five specific action steps
related to Youth/Family allowed the Review Committee to agree that such an issue is an
appropriate economic development strategy; therefore, the Strategic Plan Review Committee
supports the inclusion of the following major issue, goal, and action steps as part of the City's
revised Strategic Plan for Economic Development:
YOUTH /FAMILY
Foster an environment of awareness in the community regarding the
importance of youth to our social and economic viability.
The need for a strategic focus on the broad variety of youth - related issues
requires the participation of all segments of our community
Youth play an especially important role in the economic development of a
community. To create a progressive environment for economic development, it is
Council Report 96 -08
Page 3
the responsibility of the City, and its residents, to provide opportunities for and
encourage youth interaction and involvement in Hopkins.
Suggested action steps:
1. Closely examine impacts on youth when considering changes in City services,
2. Develop a Youth Advisory Committee, the purpose of which is to provide
input to the City Council on issues affecting youth in our community.
3. Encourage hiring of Hopkins area youth for jobs that are appropriate and may
provide experience, potential career direction, and interaction with business
people, residents, and other members of the community.
4. Improve and maintain communication between City and School District to
develop a more cooperative effort toward achieving the goals of both public
entities, such as youth entrepreneurs.
5. Actively encourage businesses to mentor youth and entrepreneurship.
o What is the future process?
Staff is proposing to prepare a prioritization process for the action steps contained within the
plan and present this to the Council at a future date. In addition, staff will be completing a
detailed work plan which identifies how each of the action steps within the plan is anticipated
to be accomplished, by whom, and within what time frame.
Alternatives
The City Council has the following alternatives available to them:
1. Approve the recommended action.
2. Deny the recommended action. This alternative assumes the Council is not interested in
maintaining an economic development strategy or does not entirely concur with the strategy as
revised by the Strategic Plan Review Committee.
3. Continue the item for further information. Under this alternative, staff would make the
modifications as suggested by the City Council and bring the document before the Council at a
later date for acceptance.