A strategic economic development plan titled Strategic Partnerships for Economic Growth and Sustainability was accepted by City Council in December. The plan was prepared by a blue-ribbon steering committee appointed to complete that task.
The committee met for over four months with subject area experts in education, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and the hospitality and tourism industries to identify ways to grow and sustain Bristol's economic future. The committee melded its own direct work with the feedback from a 10-person citizen focus group, a community-wide survey, and interviews with members of City Council.
The purpose of the economic plan is to guide the city and its strategic partners in achieving long-term economic growth and sustainability through a multitude of identified objectives and key action steps. The plan includes short term primary objectives and 3-5 year strategies deemed essential for strengthening key economic sectors, job creation, and tax base growth. The underlying premise of the plan focuses on key community partnerships that are essential and move plan success from outside the walls of city hall to a collaborative process with other entities working hand-in-hand with the city to secure the city's economic future.
The plan includes an economic mission statement with six strategic goals to guide the planning process and resulting economic strategy. Fourteen (14) key community partners were identified to accomplish 70 specific objectives over a five-year planning horizon involving "short term primary" projects (years 1 and 2) and 3-5 year strategies. A number of key actions were also put into place that are considered milestones toward the accomplishment of various objectives as deemed appropriate.
The planning process validated past assessments that future community economic success will come from niche manufacturing, the healthcare industry with Bristol Regional Medical Center as the anchor, and from the hospitality and tourism industries as the home of Bristol Motor Speedway and the culturally significant birthplace of country music.
Two transformational special opportunities were identified including (1) Public Chapter 420, The Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act and (2) construction of the BCMA Cultural Heritage Center in downtown Bristol.
Seventeen (17) supportive projects to be undertaken by the City of Bristol were identified to complement the work objectives set forth for the city and its community partners to achieve.
A number of performance metrics (beyond accomplishment of the objectives themselves) were established to assess plan success with target levels for each of the performance metrics identified 2 1/2 years out in Fiscal 2014.
With the plan development process complete, it's now time for execution - in partnership with our strategic partners.
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