The district board discussed the contract, which costs $45,000 annually, at its Aug. 5 regular meeting.
The overview
The contract with Retail Strategies states that it will give town officials information regarding retail growth and development, such as business openings and closings, according to town documents. Retail Strategies will also identify changes in economic drivers and the ownership of targeted real estate, including commercial properties for development and redevelopment. Additionally, the consultant group will give town officials demographic and other research reports, per town documents.
“There are some things that they are going to provide us in the coming months that are going to be beneficial to us, like the research and analysis information [and] the demographic information,” Director of Community Development Harrison Harrison Wicks said.
Municipal Development District President David Wylie suggested that the district keep the contract in place until the end of the year before deciding whether the contract should be renewed. The town has already paid the fee for services this year, Wicks said.
“We’ve already paid up for nine more months,” Wylie said. “So even if we don’t spend another dime and we cancel it today, [we’re] throwing away that nine months of services we’d get from them.”
The contract was originally executed two years ago, Town Manager Mike Sims said.
More details
The last report the district received from Retail Strategies had a list of businesses that were only interested in second generation buildings instead of new construction, said Council member Casey Stewart, who’s also on the Municipal Development District board.
“We need something that is more specific to us,” Wicks said. “That’s why they may have businesses that want second generation buildings but we don't have them...so we’re looking for developers that want to build new from the ground up.”
Mayor Ronald Schmidt, who’s also on the Municipal Development District board, brought up having a workshop with developers to learn what their needs are.
“Some folks are not interested in [the town] finding retailers for them, they’re more interested in helping with infrastructure,” he said.
No date was set for this proposed developer meeting.
Next steps
This contract will continue through late spring 2026 and then the Municipal Development District will make a decision on renewing the contract for another year, Schmidt said.
