Like other things happening in Northfield, this thing seemed to have flown under the radar, but not for any particular reason that I can see; it's a matter of public record. But as Griff Wigley has pointed out, EDA meeting minutes often aren't readily available for reference (since they need to be transcribed, then officially approved, before posting on the City/EDA website). The only solution to the delay that I can suggest is to attend the meetings... or read my blog. :-)

The economic development plan is in its first phase, in which the consultants gather background data about Northfield and its current position vis-a-vis history, demographic, land resources, SWOT, etc. etc. The plan is on schedule to be completed (with concrete recommendations and implementation steps) by January 2006.

Theoretically, an economic development plan COULD have been done in-house; both Brian O'Connell, Community Development Director, and Deanna Kuennen, Economic Development Specialist, have backgrounds in planning. However, a plan of this scope would have resulted in not enough staff to go around in handling day-to-day responsibilities. So someone was going to be hired to do something - either another employee to take part of the workload, if staff worked on the plan and process, or a consultant/contractor to produce the plan or parts of it.

I was the biggest lobbyist for finding not just a regional but a national firm for the plan. As I saw it, there were two very significant results which needed to come out of the plan:

1) A detailed implementation strategy so it doesn't just sit on the shelf, and
2) Sufficient vision and persuasiveness to get citizen buy-in on the level it needs in order for the plan to be implemented.

(Contrary to conventional wisdom, our problem in Northfield isn't studying things to death; it's a lack of the combination of time/talent/vision/chutzpah needed to shape conclusions and recommendations into something upon which we can act, and then finding the political will to do so.)

By going with a national firm, and stressing the need for the implementation strategy to be a large component of the plan, we have a good chance to achieve the results above. Plus, given Northfield's starry-eyed worship of "experts", a firm with a national reputation may give the plan more credibility, thus helping to achieve result #2. More importantly, a firm which brings in broader experience of what has worked, and what hasn't, in a variety of communities, has a frame of reference which will be invaluable.

I was on the subcommittee that reviewed the dozen responses to our RFP and interviewed the finalists. We narrowed it down to two and eventually chose TIP Strategies. If you're familiar with Richard Florida's premise about the "creative class" economy, you have some idea about the way TIP views economic development. They understand that Northfield's sense of place is a huge asset; that academia and the arts are products that can be marketed, without reducing them to commodities; and that growth of one sort or another is inevitable, and it's better to direct and control than to react and complain. They're well-positioned to help Northfield articulate and achieve its goals for remaining a sustainable, non-suburban, independent community--perhaps even a model--in the 21st century.

If we can do this, it'll be worth the $80k.