7.0. EDSR 03-11-2002 • Item # 7
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City of
Elk -�-�
River
MEMORANDUM
TO: Economic Development Authority
FROM: Heidi Hall, Economic Development Assistant 014
DATE: March I I, 2002
SUBJECT: 2002 Business Retention & Expansion Visit Update
Staff has completed 12 out of a potential 37 business retention and expansion visits.
Five companies chose not to participate in the program. Staff has had difficulty in
scheduling the visits for two reasons: 1) Company contact people have been on
S vacation 2) Company contact people have been unresponsive to staff's attempts to
reach them. Therefore, the following is an updated timeline regarding the project:
2002 BRE Survey Timeline
February 25-March 22
Complete visits and conduct surveys at remaining companies
March 25-29
Compile survey results
April 8
Present survey findings to EDA
April 9
Mail 2002 survey results to the 37 companies
Summary of Results (Thus Far)
The most common concerns are as follows:
• Poor education of local secondary and post-secondary students
• Lack of industrial space that allows lenient design standards to accommodate
small companies
• • Need to educate people on the general importance of industry