For this meeting, 157 contacts were listed on the Stakeholder contact list, 55 responded with an RSVP, and 45 or more actually attended. This included a few who had not RSVP d. In addition, all of EDC attended, and the City Manager and three EDC support staff attended. The session consisted of breaking up the stakeholders and EDC members into 5 groups, one for each of the 5 SWOT categories. The 5 SWOT categories were: 1. Quality of Life 2. Business Climate 3. Business Clusters 4. Infrastructure 5. Economic Development Efforts Staff noted 9-12 people participating at every table, while EDC support staff roamed the room to provide assistance. The results below were taken from the flip sheets filled out at each table. In parenthesis are the EDC table coordinator s names. The items below were faithfully recorded as stated at the meeting, with no attempt to respond. The merits of the comments would be considered in a future stage of the project. It should be noted that Lakeland s study area goes beyond Lakeland, since opportunities for economic development certainly can come from the broader region. However, it is likely that some of the observations below pertain more the Lakeland than to the whole region. The SWOT results will be taken into the overall ED Assessment, which will consist of the SWOT, surveys (underway at this time), data analysis, and any other information that EDC wishes to be part of the ED Assessment. 1
SWOT Results Table 1 Quality of Life (Gallick & Smith-Anderson) 1. Strict regulations yield quality housing 2. Recycling 3. No taxes 4. Walking trails are a nice amenity, and when on roads, increase safety (e.g. Canada Road trail under construction) 5. Green areas connecting or within subdivisions 6. Certified neighborhood watch and crime related community communication 1. Need bigger business tax base 2. Library 1. Medical facilities 2. Defunct outlet mall is functionally obsolete, and lacks a plan 1. Schools merger 2. Law enforcement merger 3. Change 4. Retail provides low wages 3. Highly educated demographic 4. Low crime 5. Public amenities 6. Retirement housing 7. Emergency Plan (e.g. storm shelter; education) 8. Targeted economic development 9. Zoning for economic development 10. Business clusters in nearby cities 2
Table 2 Business Climate (Roman) 1. Underdeveloped (land is available) 2. The existing small base of businesses may allow us to take advantage of opportunities with new types of businesses 3. Quality of life 4. Beauty 5. I-40 location 6. Ready market 7. No property tax 1. Economic plans not being completed 2. Office space 3. Citizen vision 4. Collective voice 5. Resources, e.g., staff, infrastructure 6. Lack of incentives 7. No property tax 8. Schools 9. Adoption of land use 10. Ease of mobility - people will go elsewhere since we don t offer some local services 1. Education (leverage highly educated workforce) 2. Underdeveloped 3. Area partners (e.g., other cities, nearby industrial park) 4. Mixed use 1. Outside vendors leakage 2. Move closer to office 3. Competition for revenue 4. Perception of unfriendly regulations compared to other areas 3
Table 3 Business Clusters (Fairley) 1. Small community can act more quickly than others 2. The quality of newer development is high 3. Accessible natural resources (natural beauty, recreation) 4. Good transportation access to region (Hwys 70 & 64, and I-40) 5. Rich history / secret nobody knows about (e.g., old amusement park, old track) 6. No property tax 1. Citizens resistant to change & development 1. We lack N-S access around prospective land uses 2. Lack of an infrastructure plan North of I-40 2. Lack of plan to stimulate new business 3. We are not identifying & leveraging other types of businesses nearby Lakeland 4. Businesses may not understand available sites, and where to develop 3. Lakeland is in the path of growth 4. Pursue the ability of people to live & work in Lakeland 5. Large blocks of land will be available, providing for quality integrated development 1. Economy limits new business 2. Citizens oppose businesses growth, or have no consensus on what is acceptable 3. Desire for only very low density rural single-family development is not financially sustainable 4. Development is waiting on new I-40 Interchange 4
Table 4 Infrastructure (Dudas) 1. Existing and proposed roads, including I-40, Hwys 385, 64, and New Canada Rd 2. New I-40 Interchange project 3. Easy to navigate roads 4. We have sufficient capacity for Electric, Gas, & Water 5. We have available land 6. Natural environment for walking & biking 7. There are potential allies for economic development, including MLGW, TVA, & Chambers 1. Lack of traffic signals 2. Minimum street maintenance 3. No multi-purpose recreation center 4. Difficulty installing new power poles & lines (i.e., tree conflicts) 5. Limited sewer capacity (some areas) 1. Do we have ready to develop sites? 2. Regulatory restrictions 3. Need to accelerate approval & permit processes (Lakeland perceived to be the most difficult in the region) 4. No incentives offered 5. No buildings are available for new businesses 6. Limited employment opportunities in Lakeland 7. New mixed use zoning is a threat to residential 8. Lack of understanding of development strategies & land use 9. Interest in walkability and bicycling 10. Interest in healthy living 11. New businesses seek high quality of life 12. I-40 Canada Interchange will attract new business 13. Selecting the best businesses 14. Zoning to encourage new business 1. Perception of security problems in the County 2. Cost of maintaining infrastructure 5
3. Impact of the economic slowdown on business & taxes 4. Surrounding cities have advanced plans & strategies for development 6. No public transit 7. Limited fiber optic 6
Table 5 Economic Development Efforts (Wallace) 1. Quality of life 2. No property tax 3. Stable government 4. Good existing elementary school 5. Sustainable (e.g., Lakeland has a tree preservation ordinance, open space policies, a green parking lot, a recycling program, etc.) 6. Home business friendly 1. Roads not well connected 2. Utility infrastructure not developed 3. No core industry / identity 4. No property tax limits expansion 5. No ownership to lead growth initiative 6. Lack of vision 7. No easy to do business 8. No recreation / sporting area 9. Lack of local jobs 10. Lack of local police 11. Local debt 12. Lack of defined development (land uses & regulations) 13. Lack of unity with vision 1. Corporate Park 2. Be proactive in recruiting 3. Location 4. Resources available 5. Green initiatives 6. 385 Corridor 7. New I-40 Interchange 8. Former Outlet Mall 9. Available land 10. Population growth 11. Ability to develop around natural resources 7
12. Bring additional good schools to Lakeland 13. Low crime 14. Location easy access 15. Educated workforce 16. Access to good healthcare 17. Young community 1. Lack of public transportation 2. We need our own zip code 3. Consolidation 4. Lack of construction 5. Lack of funding 6. Economy 7. Crime 8. Lack of available developed space will cause businesses to move or bypass Lakeland 8