The Pine Bluff City Council unanimously approved a resolution at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement with Retail Strategies LLC for professional consulting services.
The resolution proposes a plan to revitalize Pine Bluff’s economy by attracting new retail stores and restaurants. The city aims to provide a vibrant retail sales experience and greater dining options to its residents. A consulting firm specializing in economic development will work with the city to develop strategies and attract new businesses. The city has advertised for proposals from qualified firms and has allocated an annual consulting fee of $45,000 for three years. This initiative is intended to stimulate the local economy and enhance the quality of life for residents in Pine Bluff.
Representatives from the consulting firm attended the meeting remotely and said they had already started recruiting for Pine Bluff and were excited about the opportunity.
According to the agreement, Lori Walker, currently the director of Economic & Community Development, will serve as the primary liaison between the city and the consultant to facilitate the services.
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The firm’s job will be to identify the market retail trade area using political boundaries, drive times and custom boundary geographies, perform market and retail analyses for the trade area and conduct a retail peer market analysis with the goal of identifying a minimum of 30 retail prospects to be a target for recruitment.
“This is very much needed,” said Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington, who credited Council Member Glen Brown Sr., who frequently talks about the lack of retail shops and restaurants in Pine Bluff.
Three years ago, Washington had a conversation with Brown, which inspired her to challenge her staff to start calling businesses weekly. This strategy eventually paid off, as it attracted Chick-fil-A. Previously, Cynthia Anderson, who was part of the mayor’s office at the time, attended conferences to observe how other cities attracted retailers. It was during these conferences that she met some retailer consultants.
“It’s going to take a team to make things happen in Pine Bluff,” said Washington. “Bringing in a service of this nature helps keep a level of focus and consistency that we need.”
The city council also unanimously passed a resolution creating the position of crime analyst within the Pine Bluff Police Department and adopting an accompanying job description. This newly established role will enhance the department’s analytical capabilities and strategic decision making to identify emerging crime trends and geographical areas requiring increased public safety efforts.
Washington said the position was once filled but is no longer. “It’s an old position and the person retired,” she said. “It’s an old position that we’re bringing back to help assist with the GVI program.”
According to Washington, reinstating the position will enhance the efficacy of the GVI program. This is because the position will be responsible for analyzing data, identifying crime hotspots and implementing advanced software.