Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Hi Gretchen, <br /> <br />First of all, I appreciate your sharing information about other initiatives in La Porte. I <br />took everything into consideration and have found two areas where we can reduce our <br />price: <br /> <br />. The Alliance's SWOT analysis will contribute a portion to our SWOT analysis, <br />and therefore I am willing to take $1000 off the cost of ours, lowering the price <br />from $6500 to $5500. The Alliance's SWOT cannot substitute for ours however. <br />Theirs will cover the strengths and challenges of the City's ability to <br />organizationally support economic development. Our SWOT will cover a broader <br />range of topics. All City attributes, from organization to workforce, quality of <br />life, infrastructure, and business policies issues will be reviewed as they relate to <br />the needs of La Porte's target audiences. Strengths become selling points in the <br />marketing plan. Challenges become areas of focus in the community <br />development action plan. Opportunities and threats form tactics. We cannot <br />outsource this portion to anyone else because it's such a critical contributor to <br />the action plan. <br /> <br />. The Northstar survey and the Alliance's survey of city leaders will both cover a <br />few of the questions that we would normally include in our community survey. <br />If these groups are willing to share their survey results with us, we will reduce <br />the cost of the survey by $1500, taking the cost down from $10,000 to $8,500. <br />The Community Development/Marketing Action Plan was also reduced by <br />$1,000. <br /> <br />With these three reductions, the total price of the project will be $116,000. <br /> <br />A few other notes: <br /> <br />. The Buxton report contains very little data that we can work with. It uses <br />Buxton-branded classifications of demographic sectors that do not align with <br />our data sources. We will consider their findings in our target audience <br />analysis, but it does not save time in our process. <br />. The Alliance's Workforce and Transportation Task Force members will be good <br />resources for us - people we can interview to get a picture of the issues in the <br />region - but they do not offer any specific tactics that can immediately be folded <br />into La Porte's strategy. <br />. Travel time. One way to cut costs is to reduce the amount of face time (travel) <br />the City has with the consulting team. Preparing for and going on trips is an <br />expensive part of a strategic plan, especially when you're engaging consultants <br />with daily rates of $1000-$2000. Our time visiting with you is built into our <br />pricing. My subs have said that the only way they can cut their cost is by <br />eliminating a trip or two. I strongly recommend against this - as your time with <br />them will be one of the most valuable parts of this project. <br />. I understand that the City may be investing in a lifestyle - retail development in <br />the near future. Our economic analysis will provide the City with data that will <br />inform the investment decision as well as 'sell' La Porte to real estate <br />developers. Just wanted to mention that. <br /> <br />In conclusion, I understand this is a large investment for the City. I can promise you <br />that at the end of the process, you will know that you got your money's worth. You are <br />paying for one of the best professional teams in the country. Please let me know if you <br />have any additional questions. <br /> <br />Amy <br />