The long-term Economic Development Vision Committee has been hard at work over the past year and a half. Last fall, the final version of the Vision draft was approved and adopted by the Boards of the Scarborough Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) and the Scarborough Community Chamber (SCC). It was also presented to the Scarborough Town Council in December 2009. Since January 2010, the Vision Committee has been hard at work developing Implementation Strategies for each Vision Statement, so that the Vision Report is not just another document that sits on a shelf and gathers dust.
As such, Implementation Strategies for Vision Statements #1 (Marketing & Communications) and #2 (Planning & Development Process) have just been completed. We anticipated that these two strategies would be the most difficult and time-consuming to complete and we are very pleased with their results. Below is information about the original Vision Statements, followed by their respective Implementation Strategies.
The next Vision Implementation Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 2, 2010 @8:30am @Town Hall; all are invited to attend. We will begin working on the remaining Implementation Strategies at that time. The regular Vision website, to follow past and future progress is:
www.ScarboroughEconomicDevelopment.com/Vision.
Vision # 1 Marketing & Communications
Scarborough will aggressively market the community both internally and externally as a great place to live, work, and do business. The Town will support networking and communications among the economic and community development stakeholders and businesses.
● SEDCO will continue to work with all existing and new businesses, regardless of size, or type
● SEDCO will make efforts to increase awareness of the services it offers to Town Departments, businesses and the community
● SEDCO and the SCC will periodically conduct business visitations to gauge the needs and concerns of the business community
● SEDCO and the SCC will work together to support and grow the Scarborough business community and advocate for local and regional policies that are conducive to business development
● Scarborough will emphasize the economic benefits of doing business in town
● Support communication and networking among Scarborough businesses and to Scarborough residents about the benefits of supporting local Scarborough businesses
● Leverage the latest technologies to communicate and market Scarborough both inside and outside the region including through a state-of-the-art website, e-newsletter, and use of social networking sites
● Encourage and continue support of the Chamber to develop local and regional tourism attraction efforts in Scarborough
● When feasible, participate in regional and state marketing efforts at industry tradeshows and through external advertising
Implementation Strategy #1 Marketing & Communications
Scarborough Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO)
● Better market the Town & SEDCO
SEDCO needs to continue to market the Town as a great place to do business and better market itself as a business assistance organization.
● Meet annually with SBDC, SCORE, Maine & Co., DECD, MITC, engineers, realtors, architects, etc. to better spread the word about SEDCO
SEDCO does some of this already but reaching out to more organizations regularly will only help get the word out about SEDCO and Scarborough.
● Re-start article in local paper(s)
SEDCO had done a bi-monthly article in The Current some years ago and it was very well-received and should be started up again in any of the local papers to help spread SEDCO's message to more people.
● Look into Town-wide tradeshow (B2B & resources event)
The need and want for this came up throughout the Vision process and is done in other communities already. It is really two separate events: a business-to-business town-wide tradeshow and a business resources event; both could be done annually or every-other-year.
● Business Visitations (every 2-3 years)
SEDCO and the Scarborough Community Chamber (SCC) will again work together to conduct business visitation interviews every 2-3 years, with the goal of reaching out to 100 businesses. Also, an effort will be made to contact developers who do projects in Scarborough, even if their offices are not located in the town.
● Customer Service Exit Survey
To achieve better feedback and recommendations for improvements from applicants on the planning and development process, SEDCO and the Planning Department are working currently on an on-line survey, to be approved by the Town Manager. This effort also may introduce us to a list of testimonials from which to draw.
● Increase subscribership of e-newsletters
SEDCO's e-newsletter, the Business Bulletin, needs increased readership. This can be done in many ways, such as talking about it, writing about it, making it easy to sign up for on the SEDCO website, encouraging people to share it with others, and sharing e-distribution lists with the SCC and the Town.
● Increase social media followers
Social media is the future and SEDCO's Facebook and LinkedIn and possibly future Twitter account offer endless opportunities for free advertising, promotion, education, and more. Increase followers by talking about SEDCO on social media, writing about it, making it easy to sign up for, encouraging people to share the links with others, etc.
● Get and use testimonials
Testimonials about Scarborough as a great place to do business and about SEDCO specifically are powerful marketing tools. The process of soliciting testimonials has already begun; one-to-one contact requesting testimonials from specific businesses or developers is the next step.
● Support similar organizations
Continue to work with and support like-minded organizations such as the SCC, Buy Local, and Scarborough Farmers' Market.
Scarborough Community Chamber (SCC)
● Better market the Town & SCC
The SCC needs to continue to market the Town as a great place to do business and better market itself as a business organization.
● Look into Town-wide tradeshow (B2B & resources event)
The need and want for this came up throughout the Vision process and is done in other communities already. It is really two separate events: a business-to-business town-wide tradeshow and a business resources event; both could be done annually or every-other-year.
● New website
A new SCC website is currently underway and will hopefully be completed by the end of the summer 2010. It will be a place for member news, SCC events, community happenings, and town information.
● Tourism Focus
Scarborough has so many quality natural resources' aspects and focusing on this area and tourism in general makes perfect sense. This SCC committee is under new leadership and is re-vitalizing itself.
● Business Visitations (every 2-3 years)
The SCC and SEDCO will again work together to conduct business visitation interviews every 2-3 years, with the goal of reaching out to 100 businesses. Also, an effort will be made to contact developers who do projects in Scarborough, even if their offices are not located in the town.
● Increase subscribership of e-newsletters
The SCC's quarterly e-newsletter readership could be increased. This can be done in many ways, such as talking about it, writing about it, making it easy to sign up for on the SCC website, encouraging people to share it with others, and sharing e-distribution lists with SEDCO and the Town.
● Increase social media followers
Social media is the future and the SCC's Facebook and LinkedIn and possibly future Twitter account offer endless opportunities for free advertising, promotion, education, and more. Increase followers by talking about SCC on social media, writing about it, making it easy to sign up for, encouraging people to share the links with others, etc.
● Get and use testimonials
Testimonials about Scarborough as a great place to live and do business and about the SCC specifically are powerful marketing tools and should be shared with SEDCO and the Town and utilized in marketing materials.
● Support similar organizations
Continue to work with and support like-minded organizations such as SEDCO, Buy Local, and Scarborough Farmers' Market.
● Welcome Packets for new residents/businesses
New residents and new businesses often ask for introductory materials about the Town and having a packet readily available to distribute to them is something that would be helpful for all involved.
Town of Scarborough
● Annual Report section on businesses
In an effort to show that businesses are valued, we would like to make sure that businesses reaching significant milestones are recognized in the Annual Report.
● Customer Service Exit Survey
In an effort to achieve better feedback on the planning and development process, SEDCO and the Planning Department are currently working on an on-line survey, to be approved by the Town Manager. This may also introduce us to a list of testimonials from which to draw.
● Increase subscribership of e-newsletters (link to SEDCO & SCC & Buy Local & Farmers' Market)
Improve communication within the Town by sharing member lists and increasing subscribership.
● Make Town website more user-friendly
-have website divided into resident and business sections
It is our recommendation that the existing Town website needs to be made easier to navigate for businesses and residents (existing and potential).
During the Vision process, we had the opportunity to view many municipal websites and there are some items we consistently found that we would like to see included on a revised Town website, to make it even more aesthetically-pleasing and user-friendly. We understand that this would involve significant resources of both time and money, but we also feel strongly that it would reap huge economic and time-saving benefits to the Town. The website is a big priority, and we hope it is kept in mind as the Town re-visits the website in the future.
● Enhance Town Hall interior directional signage
As a result of comments made during the Vision process (and personal experience), it is apparent that there needs to be more welcoming signage in Town Hall. For example, when a new visitor enters Town Hall, it is unclear where they need to go and that is confusing, both for businesses and residents. Some simple directional signage near the front door would be an asset.
● New Town directional signage
It is our understanding that this has been budgeted for and the Vision Committee is happy to be a part of any conversations as this piece progresses. During the Vision process, it became clear that the Town has geographic identities and that some new ones are appearing as well and those names need to appear on the new signage.
● Get and use testimonials
Business and Town and Resident testimonials would be an advantageous promotional tool to use to document Scarborough as a good place to live, work and vacation.
● Better branding of the Town
During the Vision process, it became apparent that Scarborough does not have a ready-known description or tag-line, and it is our suggestion that better branding of the town as a whole is needed that addresses Scarborough being a great place to live and work (for residents and businesses).
● Customer Service Training
Even though things have gotten much better over the past few years, customer service is something that still needs to be worked on and ideally all Town employees that interact with the public would receive some basic customer service training regularly.
Vision #2 Planning & Development Process
Scarborough will be known by the business and economic development community for being fair, consistent and timely in the review and approval processes for commercial development and business-related permits.
● The Town, including elected, non-elected officials, and staff, will provide clear information and communications to the business and development community early in the process, through the duration of the process, regarding planning and zoning ordinances and related policies and procedures
● Department reviews will be in a coordinated manner, be conducted as early in the process as possible, and results and expectations will be communicated clearly to applicants
● Municipal review boards will treat all applicants, regardless of experience and size, with the same level of respect, provide thoughtful consideration to each applicant's submission throughout the process, and adhere to their governing guidelines and standards and not go beyond what is required of them
● When applicable, municipal review boards (including the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, among others) will make findings on each item before them that will then be communicated clearly and in writing to the applicants
● When possible, the Planning Department and other relevant Town staff will refer applicants early on in the process to SEDCO Staff or the SEDCO website, provide access to SEDCO's "Guide to Doing Business in Scarborough" for assistance and on-going guidance, and refer applicants to outside state and federal agencies and their policies
● It will be understood that businesses and individuals are not necessarily against the rules and regulations; they just want to know what the applicable rules and regulations are in advance so they can be better prepared and if Scarborough is more stringent than surrounding communities, clearly communicate why that is
Implementation Strategy #2 Planning & Development Process
● Institute an earlier joint plan review process, involving relevant Town Departments, including SEDCO when appropriate, during the conceptual phase prior to formal Planning Board submittal. The intent is to foster conceptual ideas through a less formal review so that an applicant will receive early feedback on key issues prior to going to the expense of preparing documents for formal submission.
● Recognize SEDCO's unique role in the development process and refer applicants to them early on if they have not already taken advantage of SEDCO's expertise. Additionally, encourage SEDCO to be proactive during the planning review meetings by becoming more actively involved in complicated or challenging projects where the applicants may not have reached out to them previously.
● Continue to refine the Town's construction packages, checklists, and resource materials to outline clearly the process and permits required and make sure those documents are available and distributed to applicants from the Zoning and Planning offices.
● Encourage and attempt to schedule as many joint plan reviews and inspections as appropriate when the project involves multiple Town departments (including Fire, Police, Planning, Codes, Clerk, etc.) and SEDCO. The intent is to streamline the process and make sure everyone is on the same page throughout the process.
● Continue the very effective, formal, Town multi-departmental plan review process which is coordinated by the Assistant Town Planner following formal Planning Board submittal. During this formal review, all departments' (including Fire, Police, Planning, Codes, Clerk, etc.) and SEDCO's comments are consolidated into one comprehensive document to summarize the findings of the review.
● Establish a new Certificate of Occupancy (CO) form with multiple signature lines to assure all departments have reviewed and signed off on the final inspection and testing prior to the issuance of a CO.
● Support the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) by providing staff reports regarding various applications and aiding the ZBA in crafting written decisions and findings of fact.
● Institute a process for reduced submission materials and plans for the Planning Board, when appropriate.
● Continue to monitor and fine tune the Town's permitting processes and permit tracking software in order to efficiently process permits, track permits through the development process, and maintain and improve multi-department coordination.
● Consider over the long-term, providing additional training for Town employees or adjusting the job description when the next hiring opportunity presents itself, to attract a dual certified code enforcement officer and certified fire inspector who would be primarily responsible for the plan reviews and inspections of commercial and multi-tenant residential occupancies.
● Give applicants completing the approval process, whether receiving project approval or not, the opportunity to comment on the process by completing a quick and simple exit survey (via on-line, comment card, or similar means).
● All applicants going through the approval process will be contacted early in the process by SEDCO both to offer assistance and assess how the process is working.
● The Town's Planning Department/Planning Board will communicate, in writing, to applicants the results of any preliminary review meeting with appropriate departments and SEDCO will be copied on those communications.
● SEDCO will regularly update The Guide to Doing Business in Scarborough and continue its efforts to market The Guide as a tool to be used by all applicants. Also, as appropriate Town Departments will refer applicants to The Guide.
● SEDCO and the Scarborough Community Chamber (SCC) will continue with their joint-effort Business Visitation program with the goal of visiting 100 Scarborough businesses every two-three years and will include contacting out-of-town developers and builders that do business with the Town but may not be located in the Town.
● SEDCO will seek testimonials from the developers/owners of approved projects, using the testimonials as a means to promote economic development in Scarborough. The testimonials should be posted on the SEDCO/Scarborough Community Chamber/Town of Scarborough's website and communicated through other appropriate marketing channels.
