6A(2) Proposal for Professional Services

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Bu~~~on '°~,t~y'"gc"n°mers South Bend, IN: Communi ID Proposal XI. ENDORSEMENTS/REFERENCES Buxton prides itself on exceptional client service that results in ongoing client satisfaction. Following are just a few of many endorse menu from CommunitylD clients. Kingsport, TN -Jeff Fleming, Assistant City Manager Kingsport, Tennessee is a city of 44,000 in a county of 150,000 in an MSA of 303,000. Kingsport is part of the JolTnson City-Kingsport-Bristol CSA (combined statistical area), with a population of approximately 500,000. Both Johnson City and Bristol are substantial retail centers as well. Tennessee distributes sales tax revenues based on point-of--sale, so retailing activity is highly competitive among municipalities and counties. There is no provision for n municipality or county to benefit from sales occurring in neighboring cities/counties, so it is definitely a high stakes proposition . Were you satisfied with the finished product? Yes, zve were very satisfied. We were initially disappointed that Buxton did not identify some of the retailers zve really wanted. They were very good to explain why we weren't a fit for certain retailers (like Costco, for example). If the numbers won't work, Buxton won't "cook them" just to make it look good. This speaks to their credibility in my opinion. It was an important "reality check" for our elected and appointed leaders to learn that retail isn't just a lobbying effort. It's amarket-based research effort plus a lobbying effort. Was it worth the money? We have landed 2 shopping centers with the assistance of the Buxton data and we are in the process of redeveloping another. One generates $55 million in annual sales, the other generates $96 million. The third involves a com plete overhaul of our mall (wwu~.kingsporttoun~centcr.com ), where private investors are taking it from an appraised tax value of $33 million to $92 million. While all of it ca~rnot be specifically attribute d to Buxton, it was certainh/ an integral part of the success. So, yes it was worth t12e money. We have landed Target, Kohl's, Old Navy, Dress Barn, Lifeway, Shoe Carnival, Maurices, Midiaels, Books-A-Million, ULTA, Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Tomy Thai, Batteries Plus, Ritz Camera, McAlister's, Hobbit Lobby, Pier 1, Ross, TJMaxx, Petsmart, Chili's, Cootie Brown's, Salsarita's, Starbucks and Panera Bread. Did it require a lot of city staff time? If so, about how many hours? 1 z~~ouldn't say it required a lot of time, but Buxton's timeline is controlled by the quickness of response from city officials. We opted to handle it at a staff level, i.e. there was not a retail committee or an elected body involved. I would say we invested maybe a 28