City preparing business survey
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published Oct. 21, 2009

City officials will be looking into what makes businesses successful in coming weeks.

City Planning Director Kim Wenger said North Olmsted’s economic development consultant, Silverlode, and her department will be sending out an online survey to a wide range of businesses around the beginning of November. The purpose will be to gather information about what the businesses believe the city and community can do to help them succeed. Through that, the survey also will gather information about what the businesses believe can make them and the community successful.

Wenger said the survey will be designed to aid businesses — not hinder them.

“It’s information which we believe ultimately can help all the businesses in the community,” she said. “We aren’t doing this to be intrusive as a city or to cause unneeded work. We’re looking to see what we can do to offer assistance and help them succeed.”

Wenger said the process also should provide useful information about what is working for businesses.

“It should give all of us some useful information about what helps businesses succeed,” she said. “And we’re better off as a city if our businesses are getting the tools they need to succeed, so if we can help facilitate getting that done, then this will be helpful.”

Wenger said not all the businesses in the city may get the survey but said any business can offer information or suggestions.

“We haven’t set all the criteria but we decide to only contact businesses with a certain number of employees,” she said. “But, even if some businesses don’t have that large a number of workers, they can contact us or ask us to get a hold of them if they have ideas, information or suggestions they want to pass on. This is intended to help all of us in the city.”

City Council officials said Wenger and the administration development officials are doing good work with the survey and in other areas.

“Kim’s got a great track record of picking good projects and coming up with ideas which benefit us,” Paul Barker, chairman of City Council’s Building, Zoning and Development Committee. “I’m a small business owner, and it’s good to have a government that’s trying to help by finding and passing on useful information to businesses.”

Finance Committee Chairman Michael Gareau Jr., said the survey is needed.

“It’s sounds like something that we’ve needed for a few years, so I’m glad to see we’re doing it,” Gareau said “This will be information that’s pertinent to the businesses and to the city.”

Wenger said city officials plan to run the survey for several weeks.

“We hope to be able to compile data and results from it around the first of the year,” she said. “We’ll make the information available. However the election’s turnout, we’ll have a new administration coming in but this is something any administration should be able to benefit from and utilize for many years in the city.”

On the Web:

• City of North Olmsted