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Takeaways from the 2009 ED Strategic Plan <br />(Note: The letter in parenthesis following the statement represents the Chapter, while the number references <br />the page number in the chapter. For example, (I,24) means page #24 in Chapter #1) <br /> <br />Across the board, considering surveys with 42 local leaders and 301 residents, survey responses reflected a <br />beautificationMain <br />consistent thinking among La Porte residents. Quality of place topics such as , <br />Street/downtown revitalizationSylvan Beach revitalization <br />, and to <br />development priorities. Traditional economic development roles such as business recruitment, local <br />business expansion, and external marketing rated much lower. (I24,26) <br /> lack of retail shoppingdowntownarts and culture <br />ere the , , , and the <br />. (I,24) <br /> community development <br />Many residents encouraged the City to concentrate on balancing growth through <br />vs. industrial recruitmentoffering families enhanced <br />, , and <br />entertainment and recreational opportunities <br />. (I,24) <br /> <br />Limited retail trade opportunities result in sales tax leakages to surrounding communities. <br />La Porte is severely underserved when it comes to retail opportunities. (I,1) <br /> <br />Economic diversific <br />force. La Porte residents comprise only 11.7% (Note: Pg. I,11 says 13.4%) of total local employment, with <br />the balance of workers commuting from surrounding cities. Future economic development recruitment <br />strategies should link the skills sets of current La Porte residents with industry targets. (I,2) <br /> Quality of Place <br /> -term economic development efforts. La <br />downtown historic beach waterfront <br />-utilized resources are its ,,and . Enhancing <br />Sylvan Beach, redeveloping downtown, and improving Main Street serves not only to encourage economic <br />growth, but these initiatives directly improve the quality of life for city residents. (I,2) <br /> <br />current total employment. Over the long-term, filling retail trade gaps and expanding tourism-related <br />activities (i.e. Main Street redevelopment) should help diversify the local economy and benefit residents by <br />providing employment opportunities closer to home. (I,7 and II,9)) <br /> <br />A large <br />city is not strong in retail trade, healthcare, or education, nearly 1 in 4 <br />La Porte residents work in these sectors. (I,9) <br /> <br />In 2006, only 13.4% of La Porte residents worked in the city. Since La Porte residents work throughout the <br />non-local residents <br />energy sector. The downside is that La Porte-based businesses pay high wages to . <br />(I,11) Millions of dollars in wages are leaking to surrounding cities. (I,18) <br />1 <br /> <br />