2019-2024 Economic Development Strategic Plan

Current Vision Respondents were asked to describe the current vision for Spencer, which is basically an analysis of what they see as the current vision and/or focus of Spencer.

Respondents to the assessment identified components of the City’s general economic development efforts (despite the lack of a city plan), as well as priorities of the Iowa Lakes Corridor (directly and indirectly). However, a key criticism was that the City hasn’t followed through with past planning.

Strengths In general responses to Spencer’s “strengths” were not expected to be a detailed account of the community’s best economic development assets, but it adds depth to the “why” people live in a community or should be attracted to living there.

The use of “potential” to describe a strength of Spencer is important to point out as it signals optimism within the community. Additionally, the identification of the “network of churches” is important as they are under-represented partners in economic development despite their ability to communicate information to large audiences.

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