City of Alva to pursue agreement with Retail Strategies

A special meeting of the Alva City Council was scheduled for Thursday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m. Because there was no quorum, no official meeting could be held. The meeting was for the purpose of hearing a presentation from Retail Strategies followed by discussion and action to authorize the mayor and city business manager to negotiate an agreement with Retail Strategies for council approval. With no quorum, no vote could be held. However, those present stayed to listen to the Retail Strategies presentation and ask questions.

Councilmembers present on Thursday were James Hoffman, Garrett Lahr, Matt Adair and Greg Bowman. Also present were Mayor Kelly Parker, City Business Manager Stephen Ford and City Attorney Drew Cunningham.

Presenters for Retail Strategies could not be present for the regular council meeting on May 20. Lyndsey Bailey handled most of the presentation Thursday with Ryan Culp answering some questions. Both have attended the Lt. Governor's Turkey Hunt in Alva for years.

Mayor Parker said this is his tenth year as mayor. During that time, Alva has been flat in retail growth. Past and current efforts are "not getting it done," he said. That's why he was interested in Retail Strategies (RS).

Bailey said since 2011 the company has partnered with about 800 communities to drive sales tax revenue. She said the best way is through recruiting national retailers. It takes 18 to 36 months to get the job done so RS asks for a three-year commitment. RS has an annual research investment of over $200,000 in paid subscriptions, GIS mapping and data and mobile data collection.

Bailey showed a map of Alva's trade area, towns and communities within a 50-75 mile radius, amounting to over 10,000 in population with an average household income of $60,000-plus. The number of households is over 2,500 with a daytime population of over 9,000 and an average age of 35.5 years.

She said their GAP analysis (area money being spent outside the area with a loss in sales tax) amounts to $112 million. Of that amount $41,678 is in grocery spending, $33,065 in food services and $26,949 in health and personal care. She also presented information showing mobile phone data collection using Walmart in Alva over a one-year period as an example. Another graph showed how Alva measured up compared to similar communities.

Other services of RS are a real estate analysis including parking, traffic, signage and an inventory of potential retail sites. They will deliver a market analysis, a retail recruitment plan and a marketing guide. They also offer representation at conferences and trade shows. RS doesn't only collect data. They also have continuing contacts with national and regional retailers and work to convince them to look at what communities they represent have to offer.

The recruitment proposal for the City of Alva from Retail Strategies listed an annual rate of $45,000 per year for a period of three years.

A video of the Thursday presentation by Retail Strategies may be viewed at http://www.AlvaReviewCourier.com.

Since no vote could be taken on Thursday, the agenda item was moved to the regular city council meeting held on Monday, May 20. At that meeting, all councilmembers were present including James Hoffman, Garrett Lahr, Gail Swallow, Matt Adair, Troy Brooks, Joe Parsons and Greg Bowman. There is still a council vacancy in Ward 2.

Parsons said in looking at the proposal from Retail Strategies, his biggest concern is that 90 percent of the retailers listed have a pretty strict rule on minimum population. Dunkin Donuts, which Bailey mentioned several times, has a minimum population of 9,000 according to their website, said Parsons. There is no guarantee that a national or regional retailer will locate in Alva. Parsons said it was a lot of money to pay if it brings the city nothing.

Adair said Parsons was thinking too small. It's not just Alva but the retail hub. Lahr mentioned they also talked about through traffic.

Lahr made a motion, seconded by Bowman, for the mayor and city business manager to negotiate an agreement with Retail Strategies for city council approval. The motion passed by a 5-2 vote with Brooks and Parsons voting no.