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<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Hello Iris and all on TownTalk</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Last Friday (March 31, 2006), we met with Ms Kennedy Smith </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> who is the town's new economic development consultant. We had</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> a pleasant and productive meeting in which we discussed goals </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> and problems and took a tour of the M-UTC areas in town.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Just as your letter urges, she is planning on several "surveys". </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Initially an informal web based survey and a bit later a more formal </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> survey with a more statistically valid set of data.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Your suggestion to assess where the town is heading in the </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> long run is very interesting. I do not know if Ms Smith's surveys </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> will match all of your suggestions but I expect they will be </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> excellent and yield a gold mine of information.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> She is a founder of the "CLUE" consulting firm. Here are a few quotes</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> from their web site that I think you might find interesting...</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group is a </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> consulting firm that helps communities create vibrant, dynamic </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> downtowns and neighborhoods. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> We help local and state governments, developers, and nonprofits </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> design innovative downtown economic development strategies, </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> cultivate independent businesses, recycle historic buildings, </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> attract young talent, strengthen downtown management programs, </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> and craft planning and land use tools that mitigate sprawl and </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> stimulate town center development.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> We specialize in downtowns. One of our two cofounders, Kennedy </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Smith, directed the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Main Street Center for 13 years and is considered one of the world's </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> leading experts on downtowns, downtown economics, independent </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> business development, and the economic impact of sprawl, with a </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> career in downtown revitalization spanning 23 years. </FONT><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> She created the </FONT></b></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> retail market analysis methodology now used by most historic </FONT></b></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> downtowns in the US.</FONT></b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> [emphasis mine]</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> [clip]</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> RETAIL MARKET ANALYSES </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> We believe that one of the two foundations of a great downtown is a </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> great market analysis (the other is a great land use strategy...). </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Without a good market analysis, you're just taking blind stabs at </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> shaping the district's economy.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> ...</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> [End Quotes from their website ]</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> You can visit her group's website at www.cluegroup.com</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> You might find it very interesting.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Here is one more quote from their site:</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> "Any town that doesn't have sidewalks doesn't love its children."</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> - Margaret Meade </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Take care</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> - Rob Oppenheim</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Ward One Councilman</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> 5902 Cleveland Ave</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Riverdale Park, Md 20737-1930</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Home Office: 301 779 1745</FONT></div>
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