2019-2024 Economic Development Strategic Plan

On October 6 th the Consultant ran a tabulation of assessment responses to evaluate submitted assessments and prepare for the two-day Grow Spencer Commission workshops on October 8 th and 9 th . As of October 6 th , 315 assessments had been submitted, which exceeded the sample size of 263 required for 90% confidence that the responses represented the community with a margin of error +/- 5%, but below the 372 required for 95% confidence with a margin of error +/-5% vi . In total 412 assessments were submitted representing 332 residents of Spencer and 80 non-residents, including 17 assessments submitted by residents after October 6 th . A complete copy of the survey and responses was provided to the City in a supplemental appendix. Select assessment highlights are shown below followed by an analysis of open-ended Vision and S.W.O.T. responses.

GENERAL SURVEY RESULTS (HIGHLIGHTS)

48% of Respondent Businesses Are Less Than 10 Years Old

16% of Respondents Own a Business In Spencer

63.6% of Respondents Have Worked in Spencer More than 10 Years

69.5% of Respondents Have Lived in Spencer More than 10 years

25.8% of Respondents Believe the City Isn’t Spending Enough on Economic Development

Allocating City Resources to Attract New Industrial Businesses Scores Highest Among Respondents

48.6% of Respondents see the City’s Economic Development Performance as Poor or Below Average in the last 3 years

Over 75% of Respondents Prioritize Growth by New Industry Over Alternatives

Nearly 81% of Respondents Believe Commercial Air Services at Spencer Municipal Airport Would Have a Positive Impact on the Community (less than 1% don’t)

A Majority of Respondents Believe Investments at Spencer Municipal Airport Will Positively Impact Business Attraction, Expansion, Population Growth and Quality of Life.

Only 19% of Respondents Believe the City Currently Have an Economic Development Vision

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS (S.W.O.T.) MATRIX Responses to the community economic development assessment were used to gauge the vision of the community (current and future), as well as complete a preliminary S.W.O.T. Matrix that could be used by the Grow Spencer Commission. The next few pages review the results.

Page | 16