The recent announcement by Tom Hanley that his family business of over 80 years will be closing its doors is somber news for our community. The factors cited for the closing were, to many, not surprising: the current downturn in the economy, competition from larger format retailers, the impending reconstruction of Main Street and Mr. Hanley's desire to retire.
The Hanley family is owed a great debt of gratitude and we should all tip our hats to them for staying in business for so long given the highly competitive nature of retailing.
The closing of Hanley's is yet another indicator that we need to put some serious thought into the future of our local economy. Along with Mayor Chase and my colleagues on the City Council, I have been working for the past year to promote the creation of a strategic business development plan for Sun Prairie. The City Council recently approved a resolution creating an ad hoc economic development committee to oversee the creation of such a plan.
The committee will consist of eleven private sector members representing key elements of the Sun Prairie business community, the Mayor and three members of the City Council.
The charge of this group will be to draft a strategic business development plan for our city that (1) provides an overview of current and projected economic conditions; (2) identifies and prioritizes city initiatives relating to economic development for the next five years; and (3) establishes a means of measuring progress of those initiatives.
The plan is meant to provide the business community, city leaders and the people of Sun Prairie with a blueprint for future economic growth efforts. Specifically, it should tell us where we stand in the regional economy, where we want to go as a business community and how best to get there.
We have a thriving Main Street. How can we help those merchants continue to grow and prosper?
We have some major employers like General Casualty, Royle Printing, Trachte Building Systems and Famous Footwear providing hundreds of good-paying jobs right here in our city. What tools do they and other large and mid-sized employers need to remain committed to Sun Prairie?
Should we be looking to court technology companies like Epic Systems or TomoTherapy, and what will it take to get them to seriously consider coming here?
These are some of the key questions that a strategic business development plan can answer.
This plan will also help us market Sun Prairie to prospective businesses across the Midwest and throughout the country.
Dane County is part of a regional business marketing and branding entity known as THRIVE. As THRIVE begins to bear fruit, Sun Prairie will need to have its "ducks in a row" to be able to properly market its assets to companies interested in locating high wage, sustainable jobs in our area.
There are a number of pro-active marketing efforts that can be conducted with a concise business development plan as a key selling tool. We should be aggressive in marketing ourselves at national and international business trade shows within our identified industry clusters.
A well-crafted business development plan says to the region and to the country that Sun Prairie is "open for business" and ready to grow with the right business partners.
Anyone interested in being a member of this committee is encouraged to send an e-mail to Sun Prairie's economic development director, Neil Stechschulte.
Everyone with an interest in the future of our city is also encouraged to attend the meetings of the ad hoc committee and offer their ideas on how to grow our economy.
Being part of an effort to define the future of our city will be both challenging and rewarding. We have a unique opportunity to determine not only our economic future but also define our identity as a growing and thriving community.
John Murray represents the 4th aldermanic district in Sun Prairie.
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