yellow springs retention and expansion study - 1998

8/9/2019 Yellow Springs Retention and Expansion Study - 1998

1/18

Ballantine BookcraftsBrunings Clock Shop

Bushworks, Inc.

Catalpa Lane Pottery

Cliffside Clayworks

Coldwell Banker/

Heritage Realtors

Creative Systems

Dark Star Books

Dayton St. Gulch Company

Deaton Hardware Company

Earth Rose International Imports

Environment Control

Friends Care Center

Gemini World Music and Art

Gregor Construction

Gaili Tattooz

Glen Garden Gifts

Gretchen & Company

Henderson Hudson Dezign

Hosket Veterinary Service

Kathryn Hitchcock, Psy.D.& Associates, P.A., Inc.

Little Art Theatre

Michael Jones Ceramics

PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES

Manufacturing

Anthropology Research Project

The Antioch CompanyElectroshield Inc.

Morris Bean & Company

TLA, Inc.

Vernay Laboratories

Services and Retail

The MolladoorMorgan House B & B

Mr. Fubs Party

Rita Caz Jewelry Studio

Robert T. Morrison, M.D.

& Associates, Inc.

Nitelites Rescue, Inc. Yellow

Springs Scuba

Ohio Silver Company

Pangaea Trading Company

The Propaganda Mill

Second Chance Hemp Company

SRC Childcare

Vanlehn Construction Services

Village Cyclery

Village Gallery & Guitar

Would You, Could You In a Frame

Yellow Springs Community Federal

Credit Union

Yellow Springs IGA

Yellow Springs News, Inc.

Yellow Springs PotteryYellow Springs Unlimited

Youngs Jersey Dairy

One Unidentified Xenia Ave.

Retail Merchant


2/18

INTRODUCTIONThis report describes Yellow Springs business activity in the retail/service industry as well as

in the manufacturing industry.

Unique retail/service findings include:

A broad cross-section of retail and service companies in Yellow Springs.

A near 100% local ownership of retail/service firms.

Retail and service companies draw most employees from the Village, thus exacerbating the

competition for workers.

Problems identified by companies are unique rather than organizing around certain themes.

Unique manufacturing findings include:

No local market nor competitors exist for the manufacturing firms.

In the past five years, these six manufacturing firms generated 30 new jobs but lost 72.

Average wages paid are the highest seen across the communities that have undertaken a business

Retention & Expansion program.

The body of the survey report concentrates on four fundamental areas for fifty-one Village of

Yellow Springs firms (45 retail/service firms and 6 manufacturing firms).

Retail and Service

Information such as demographics, work force quality, and business environment issues

pertaining to the retail and service companies are reported in this section.

Manufacturing

Information such as demographics, work force quality, and business environment issues

pertaining to the manufacturing companies are reported in this section.

Community Issues

In this section we explore external influences in the region and in the Village that have a strong

impact on company and community development.

Recommendations

The recommendations, presented in the last section, were developed by the R&E task force

based upon businesses' concerns as articulated when responding to questions in the R&E survey.

1


3/18

RETAILANDSERVICEForty-five retail and service companies are included in this report of the Village of Yellow Springs.

Business Demographics

This retail and service section begins with business demographics, including the products and services

provided, the type of ownership and company longevity.

Q: What is the major product or service provided at this establishment?

Of the 45 retail and service com-

panies surveyed, there is a broad

cross-section of both retail and

service companies. The retail cat-

egory includes four companies that

provide pottery and/or ceramics;

three that produce art, sculpture

and/or music; and two companies

each selling apparel, jewelry, food,picture frames, and books/news-

papers. In addition, there are

seven companies providing mis-

cellaneous retail goods, such as

toys, gifts, hardware, general

retail, florist, antique retail and bikes (one company each).

The service category includes six com-

panies that provide professional ser-vices such as psychological, veterinary,

and medical services. Furthermore,

two companies, each, provide enter-

tainment, personal care, finance/insur-

ance/real estate services, construction

services, and book bindery/creation.

Miscellaneous services include clock

repair, furniture repair, janitorial ser-

vices, tattooing, and lodging (one

company each).

Retail Major Product/Service

Food

2

Jewelry

2

Book/

NewspaperSales

2

Misc.

7

Apparel

2Pottery/

Ceramics

4

Picture

Framing

2

Art/Sculpture/

Music

3

Service Major Product/Service

*FIRE

2

Personal

Care

2

Entertainment

(Bar, Movies)

2

Construction

Contractors

2

Professional

Service

6

Misc.5

Book

Bindery/

Creation

2

* Finance, Insurance and Real Estate

2


4/18

Q: What is the nature of your establishment? Do you own or lease your office space?

Unlike most communities, the Village of

Yellow Springs is characterized by com-

panies that are locally owned and op-

erated (43 companies). Only one com-

pany each is part of a regional or na-tional chain. At the same time, nearly

half of the companies own their office

space (21 companies). Taken together,

these two points imply that there is lo-

cal commitment to the retail and ser-

vice industries in Yellow Springs.

Q: In what year was this company started at the present address?

Six companies began their busi-

ness before 1970, two as earlyas the late 1940s. Six more

began operations between

1970 and 1979. Retail/Service

industries in Yellow Springs have

shown growth in recent years.

Fourteen were started between

1980 and 1989, while another

nineteen companies began after

1990.

43

1 1

0

10

2030

40

50

Numberof

Firms

Locally Owned

and Operated

Regional Chain National Chain

Nature of Establishment

6 6

14

19

0

5

10

15

20

NumberofFirms

Before 1970 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990 and After

What Year Company Started At Present Addres s

3


5/18

Work Force Issues

Workers are the core of the work place and therefore a large section of the report is dedicated to work

force issues.

Q: How many full-time and part-time employees do you currently employ?

Overall, the companies described in thisreport are small in size. In fact, nine of

the 45 companies are run by the owner

and have no full or part-time employees.

Only two of the companies in this report

have more than ten full-time employees.

Nineteen companies have between one

and five employees and four companies

have between six and ten full-time em-

ployees (the rest of the companies did

not specify).

The employment of part-time person-

nel presents a very similar pattern to that for full-time employees. Specifically, nineteen companies

employ between one and five people, five employ six to ten people, and four employ more than ten

people. Seasonal employees are even less common among these companies as is evidenced by the

fact that only six firms employ seasonal help, for a total of 53 employees.

Q: What are your employees average wages per hour?

The most common pay range for

full-time employees is $6.01 to

$8.00 per hour (nine companies)

while seven companies pay an av-

erage of $8.01 to $10.00 per hour.

On the other end of the pay scale,

two other companies report em-

ployee average wages per hour as

between $14.01 and $16.00. The

pay scale for part-time employees

is marginally lower than that for full-

time employees.

65

19 19

45

2

4

0

5

10

15

20

NumberofFirms

0 1-5 6-10 11+

Number of Full-Time/Part-Time Employees

Full-T ime Part-T ime

0

3

9

13

7

5

01

0

2 2

0

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

NumberofFirms

Les s Than

$6.00

$6.00-

$8.00

$8.01-

$10.00

$10.01-

$12.00

$12.01-

$14.00

$14.01-

$16.00

Full-Time/Part-Time Average Wage Per Hour

Full-Time

Part-Time

4


6/18

Q: What benefits are offered to your full and part-time employees?

Companies were asked a series of questions

pertaining to benefits offered to full and part-

time employees. Twenty-five of the 45 com-

panies employ full-time personnel and 16

provide health, 10 retirement, 14 vacation,and 9 sick leave. Of the 26 companies that

employ part-time people, the most commonly

provided benefit is vacation time (9 compa-

nies). Five companies offer sick leave and

three companies provide health and retire-

ment benefits to their part-time employees.

Q: How do you rate your employees quality of work and attitude toward work?

Sixteen companies rate the quality of work

as excellent, 14 rate it good and one ratesworker quality as fair (recall that 9 compa-

nies cannot rate this because they have no

employees). Employee attitude toward

work recorded quite favorable ratings too.

Fourteen companies rated attitudes excel-

lent, 15 rated attitudes good, one rated them

fair, and one said attitudes are poor.

Q: Where do your employees live?

When employers were asked to describe where their employees live, most responded that their employ-

ees live in the Village of Yellow Springs. In fact, 21 companies state that 76 to 100% of their work force

live in the Village of Yellow Springs. Nine companies say that over 50% of their workers live outside of

Yellow Springs but in Greene County. Further, only 7 companies have employees who live outside of

Greene County. Answers to this question may impact the nature of recruiting problems, described below,

because retail and service companies are competing for workers in the relatively small Village labor pool.

Q: Does your company have problems recruiting employees?

The question is posed regarding six different occupations and eight potential recruiting problems.

Clearly, the most common problem is with sales employees (23 companies). When describing the type ofproblem, however, no single theme is reported. Rather, about four companies report each of the following

six problems: poor work attitude, the low skills of the work force, the high cost of training employees, the

high competition for trained labor, high wage rates, and high worker turnover.

16

3

10

3

14

9 9

5

0

5

10

15

Number

ofFirms

Healt h Ret iremen t Vacat io n Sick Leav e

Full-Time/Part-Time Benefits

Full-T ime Part-Time

1416

1514

1 1 1 0

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

NumberofFirms

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Employees' Attitude Toward and Quality of Work

Attitude

Quality

5


7/18

Business Environment Issues

This section describes the internal development decisions being made by companies and business trends

that help us gauge the health of the retail and service industry.

Q: Is your company planning to renovate/expand, open another branch, relocate, or close/sell

the firm?

This question is an important one to

organizations involved in facilitating

business development. Answers to

this question allow us to gauge the

pace and nature of development that

will occur. The first question in this

section asks each of the companies

whether they plan to renovate or ex-

pand their operations in the Village

of Yellow Springs. Of the 45 com-

panies in this report 12 plan to reno-vate and/or expand and nine of those

own or lease sufficient property to

allow the changes; however, two

companies do not have sufficient

space and another company is unsure.

Companies were asked to list any barriers that they have confronted in planning renovations and/or expan-

sions. Half of the companies have experienced barriers, and nearly each reason is unique to one

company. Specifically, two companies lack the cash flow to support the cost of renovating and/or

expanding. One company restated the need for additional space, one company cited zoning/building

regulations /inspections, one company has had difficulty obtaining a loan, and one company saysthere is a lack of good cooperation between the Village and the County and that they cannot finance

the building that they envision.

Some of these companies would like assistance from organizations that facilitate business development.

Three companies would like assistance from the Village and/or the County, two request assistance from

the Community Improvement Corporation, one cites the Ohio Department of Development, one mentions

the Chamber of Commerce, and one specifies the Small Business Assistance program.

Other types of business expansion decisions may affect development in the Village. Five companies plan

to open another outletone will do so within the Village, one outside of the Village, two are undecided,and one refused to specify. Two outlets are planned to be opened with one year, one outlet is planned to

open in one to two years, and two other companies did not specify the time frame for opening.

12

5

2 3

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

NumberofFirms

Renovate/Expand Open Relocate Close/Sell

Companies Planning to Renovate/Expand, Open, Relocate, or

Close/Sell Their Facility

6


8/18

Two companies in this report are planning to move their business in the short run (in six months to one

year). One will move due to an overcrowded building and one will move because business is not growing

as hoped. One of these companies is relocating elsewhere in the Village and one company will move

elsewhere in Greene County.

Three companies plan to close or sell their establishment. One will do so in one to two years, one will do

so in more than two years, and one did not specify. The reasons for closing are unique. One will no longer

provide personal care services, however, would like to open a care center in Yellow Springs but cannot

see how employee benefits would be afforded. One says the company will close due to lack of local

support for the business, and one is closing because the owner is retiring.

Q: Over the last two years, have your profit, sales quantity volume, sales dollar volume, and

number of customers increased, stayed the same, or decreased?

Of the four business

factors listed in the

question, profits have

declined more so thanthe other items. In fact,

profits for 25 compa-

nies have increased, for

ten companies profits

have stayed the same,

and for eight companies

profits have declined.

At the same time, sales

dollar volume has in-

creased for 29 compa-

nies, has not changed for six companies, and has declined for six companies. As can be seen in the chart,the sales quantity volume and the number of customers have experienced similar patterns to the sales dollar

volume.

Q: Has your company undertaken activities to improve the business environment in the past two

years, or does it plan to do so in the next two years?

To improve their business environment, the most common activity undertaken by these 45 companies is to

upgrade the mix of goods and services. Nineteen companies have done so in the past two years, four plan

to do so in the next two years, and thirteen companies have done so in the past and will continue to do so

in the future. The second most common activity is to computerize records and inventory. The chartpresents the various activities and the frequency with which they are done.

25

108

27

67

29

6 6

28

9

5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

NumberofFirms

Profit Sales

Quantity/Volume

Sales Dollar/Volume Number of

Customers

Change in Companies' Business Factors Over the Past Two Years

Increased Stayed the Same Declined

7


9/18

Q: Has your advertising budget changed in the past year? What is the size of your advertising

target market?

Most commonly, the advertising budget for these firms has remained unchanged (27 companies). On the

other hand, the advertising budget has increased for fifteen companies and decreased for three. Consistent

with other responses, it appears that most of these companies target the Yellow Springs market20

companies have a target market of less than 10,000 people. Fifteen companies target a market between

10,000 and 50,000 people and eight advertise to markets in excess of 50,000 people.

Q: Where do you believe the majority of your customers live?

As is generally the case in U.S. retail and service industries, these companies provide for the needs of the

immediate population. For 30 of 45 companies, the majority of their customers live in the Village (19), and

in Greene County but outside of the Village (11).

Q: What factors are the most needed improvements in the Village of Yellow Springs?

Companies were presented with a list of sixteen factors that affect the business environment, and they were

asked to rank the top needed improvements. Using a weighted calculation, the most desired improvement

is to address the parking situation (meaning the need for more spaces or for spaces to be more conve-

niently located). A second tier of concerns relates to the improvement of the exterior appearance of theVillage and a reduction of traffic congestion.

19

4

13

98

4

9

2 2

9

2

7

10

2

98

9

6

0

5

10

15

20

NumberofFirms

Upgrade Mix of

Goods/Serv.

Remodel

Facilities

Change Bus.

Hours

Participate In

Joint Mktg.

Efforts

Attend Bus.

Training

Computerize

Rec./Inv.

Activities Firms Have Undertaken or Will Undertake

Done In Past 2

Years

Plan To Do In 2

Years

Done &Plan To

Do In 2 Years

8


10/18

Business Demographics

This section describing the manufacturing industry in Yellow Springs begins with business demographics,

including the products and services provided, the type of ownership, and company longevity.

Q: What is the major product or service provided at this establishment?

Each of the six manufacturing firms in this re-

port develops a different type of product. One

firm is in the printing and publishing industry,

one develops rubber and miscellaneous prod-

ucts, one is in the primary metals industry, one

in electric and electronic equipment, one in

electronic components, and one in research

and development.

Q: What is the nature of your establishment?

Manufacturing firms were asked which of threebusiness ownership types best represented their

firm: single unit firm, headquarters of a multi-unit

firm, and branch plant of a multi-unit firm. Single

unit firms and headquarter operations indicate the

most local control over business decisions. In this

case, four manufacturing firms are single unit firms

and two are the headquarter operation.

Q: In what year was this company started at

the present address?

Another positive indicator for a community is the

longevity presented by the manufacturing base. In

Yellow Springs three firms were started in or be-

fore 1950. One firm in this report began opera-

tions between 1970 and 1979, while one firm be-

gan at its present address in 1998.

Q: Where does your company sell its products or services? Where are your companys competi-

tors located?

None of the firms in this report sell their products and services in Yellow Springs or in Greene County. In

fact, the majority of products and services for all firms in this report are sold in the United States (outside

of Ohio). For this reason, competitors of these firms are more likely to be found in the United States.

Printing & Publishing

Rubber & Misc. Products

Primary Metals

Electric & Electronic Equipment

Electronic Components

Research & Development

4

2

0

1

2

3

4

5

NumberofFirms

Single Unit Firm Headquarters of a

Multi-Unit Firm

Nature of Establishment

3

1

0

1

0

1

2

3

4

NumberofFirms

Before

1970

1970-

1979

1980-

1989

1990 and

After

Year Company Started At This Address

1

1

1

1

1

1

MANUFACTURING

Major Product/Service Provided

9


11/18

Work Force Issues

Manufacturing workers, because they export products, are important in generating new dollars in a local

economy. Therefore, a large section of the report is dedicated to work force issues.

Q: How many full-time and part-time employees do you currently employ? How many were

employed five years ago, and how many do you project to employ in five years?

Firms in this report have full-time employ-

ment levels on extreme ends of a con-

tinuum, beginning with four employees on

the one hand and over 400 hundred em-

ployees on the other. Part-time employ-

ment levels are negligible; in fact, these

firms employ only 13 part-time people.

For this reason, no further analysis will be

presented regarding part-time employ-

ment.

In the past five years, these six companies have generated thirty new jobs, but have lost 72 jobs. These

findings are not particularly alarming considering that most of the firms interviewed are in the mature stage

of their development as opposed to the adolescent or rapid growth stage. In line with these findings, the

projected change in employment levels for these firms is a net increase of just over 50 jobs.

Q: What is the main reason for changes in employment?

Although many reasons for changes in historical employment levels varied from firm to firm, one reason is

consistent across these firms. Offering new products and services is the most common reason for changes

in employment in the past. The reasons for the changes in employment in the future are the projected

growth in demand for products and increased efficiency gained through new technologies.

Q: What are your employees average wages per hour?

Although the range of wages paid is some-

what broad, as one might expect from the

varied employment size of these firms,

most of these firms pay average wages in

excess of the highest wages paid by retail

and service companies. Specifically, two

firms pay average wages between $14 and

$16 per hour, one firm pays between$16.01 and $18.00 per hour, one firm

pays between $18.01 and $20.00, and

two firms pay well over $20 per hour on

average.

2

1

3

0

1

2

3

4

NumberofFirms

1-10 11-20 20+

Number of Full-Time Employees

2

1 1

2

0

1

2

3

N

umberofFirms

$14.00-

$16.00

$16.01-

$18.00

$18.01-

$20.00

More than

$20.00

Average Wage for Full-Time Employees

10


12/18

Q: What percentage of your workers are unionized?

When asked about unionization within their firms, two firms report that none of their employees are union-

ized, while two state that approximately three-fourths of their workers are unionized (two other companies

did not specify).

Q: Where do your employees live?

Firms were asked to specify the geographical areas from which they draw large portions of their employ-

ees. For most firms, it appears that roughly 25% live in the Village, 25% live elsewhere in Greene County,

and about 50% live elsewhere in Ohio.

Q: How do you rate your employees with respect to their work attitude and the quality of their

work?

The manufacturing firms in this report rate employee attitude toward work and the quality of their work

identically. Two firms rate attitude and quality as excellent and four firms rate them as good. This satisfac-

tion with worker attitudes is a theme that is continued in the next question.

Q: Does your company have problems recruiting employees?

Firms were asked to specify the types of problems they experience when recruiting new employees within

the following occupational categories: unskilled workers, semiskilled, skilled, clerical, professional, and

management. As might be expected among manufacturing firms, the greatest concern is with unskilled,

semiskilled and skilled workers. The greatest problem across the eight potential problems listed in the

question is the high competition for trained labor. This problem is a regional work force issue confronting

a large proportion of firms in the manufacturing industry.

11


13/18

4

3

2

0

1

2

3

4

5

Numbe

rofFirms

Direct Sales Work Through

Foreign

Agents/Dist.

Import Products

Nature of International Trade Involvement

4

4

1

3

1

0 1 2 3 4 5

Number o f Firms

Western Europe

Canada

Middle East

East Asia

Latin America

Region of Company Trade

Q: Is your company involved in international trade?

Five of the six manufacturing firms are in-

volved in international trade through sev-

eral methods. The most common method

is through direct sales outside of the U.S.

(four firms). Three firms work through

foreign agents and distributors, and two

firms import products and parts.

As is the case in the Greater Dayton re-

gion, these manufacturers trade primarily

with Western Europe and Canada (four

firms each). Three firms are involved with such East Asian countries as Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam

and the Philippines. Only one firm each trades with the Middle East and with Latin America.

We ask companies that are involved in international trade if they face any barriers to trade, and one

company said, Yes. The barrier described is the ignorance of international trade laws. We also askthose firms not involved with international trade, what issues are preventing them from doing so. The one

manufacturing firm not currently involved in trade says that the business serves a specific area, that man-

agement lacks familiarity of foreign markets, and that the costs are too high.

12


14/18

Business Environment Issues

This section describes the internal development decisions being made by the manufacturing companies and

presents business trends that help us gauge the health of the manufacturing industry.

Q: What factors will have a positive impact on profits in the future? Which ones will have a

negative impact?

Firms were asked to characterize those

factors that will have a positive impact on

profits. The three most common themes

are new products, changing consumer

tastes, and new technologies making older

plants obsolete. Factors that may have a

negative impact on profits in the future are

equally considered to be wage rates and

domestic competition.

Q: Are there any major technological innovations on the horizon in your industry that might

affect your company with the next five years?

Firms were asked to respond to a list of potential technological innovations, such as computer technology,

robotics, and quality control systems. At least three of the six firms listed computer technology, low cost

substitutes, standardized production processes, and robotics. The most common technological innovation

that may affect companies in the next five years is computer technology (4 firms).

Q: When has your company invested in new/used equipment or machinery? What is the average

life cycle of all machinery used in production?

One gauge of an industrys health and

commitment to the local economy is thedegree to which firms are investing in

their business operations. One measure

of that is investment in equipment and

machinery. In this case, five of the firms

have invested in machinery and/or equip-

ment within the past year, while two in-

vested one to five years ago, one invested

in new/used equipment between five and

ten years ago, and one firm invested

more than ten years ago (companies could have given more than one response). The average lifecycle of all machinery is between one and four years for two firms and over ten years for three firms.

New Products

Changing Consumer Tastes

New Technology Making Older Plants Obsolete

Positive Factors On Profit

5

2

1 1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

NumberofFirms

Within

Past Year

Between 1 -

5 Years

Between 5 -

10 Years

More Than

10 Years

Company Investment in New/Used

Equipment/Machinery

13


15/18

Q: Is your firm planning to renovate/expand, open another branch, or move?

Of the six manufacturing firms in this report, three are planning renovations/expansions and all three own orlease sufficient property to allow for the changes. Yet all three face barriers to renovation/expansion, and

each reason is somewhat unique. One firm states that the firms land configuration is not ideally suited to

expansion. One firm states that it has had zoning/building regulation/inspection barriers. One firm says that

it lacks the cash flow necessary to support the cost and that cooperation issues between the Village and

County are anticipated.

One of the six manufacturing firms is planning to open another branch in six months to one year. The

branch will be located in a southeastern state. None of the manufacturing firms in this report are planning

to relocate nor to close or sell.

3

1

0

0

1

2

3

4

NumberofFirms

Renovate/Expand Open Another

Branch

Relocate

Companies Planning to Renovate/Expand, Open Another

Branch, or Relocate

14


16/18

COMMUNITYISSUESCommunity Issues

This section focuses on community-wide issues and combines the responses of both the retail and service

industry with the manufacturing industry.

Q: What is your overall opinion of the Village of Yellow Springs as a place to conduct business?

Combining the responses of manufactur-

ing and retail/service companies, the ma-

jority of companies have a favorable opin-

ion or the Village of Yellow Springs as a

place to conduct business. Specifically,

41 rate the community as either an excel-

lent or good place to conduct business.

On the other hand, nine companies rate

Yellow Springs as a fair place to con-

duct business (one did not specify).

Q: Please rate public services available to you in the Village of Yellow Springs?

Part of what makes a community attractive as a place to conduct business is the quality of public services.

Both manufacturing firms and retail/service companies were asked to rate a variety of public, utility and

school services. Of all these services, fire, police, and school services rated the highest, while water

services appear to be rated the lowest.

Companies were asked whether they believe there is sufficient parking in the downtown area. Thirty-six of

the combined 50 companies responded no, there is not sufficient parking.

We asked companies whether existing telecommunication services meet their needs. Thirty-two state thatcurrent telecommunication services meet their needs, while 7 companies have unmet needs (12 firms

did not specify).

Q: How do you rate amenities in the down-

town area of the Village of Yellow

Springs?

Another contributing factor to making a com-

munity a good place to conduct business op-

erations is the provision of amenities. The vast

majority of companies in this report rate down-town amenities (such as park benches, trash

containers, and bike racks) as excellent (7) or

good (31). Conversely, twelve companies rate

amenities as either fair or poor (one did not

specify).

Overall Opinion of The Village of Yellow

Springs As A Place To Conduct Business

Fair

9

Excellent

13

Good

28

7

31

10

2

0

10

20

30

N

umberofFirms

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Rate Amenities in Downtown Area

15


17/18

Q: Is there a need to expand the central business district in the Village of Yellow Springs?

When posed with the question about the Central Business District, most of the companies (33) do not see

a need to expand the Central Business District, while ten are in favor of expanding it (8 companies did not

specify).

Q: Please specify the level of helpfulness you receive from business development organizations.

We asked businesses to rate five business development organizations:

The Village of Yellow Springs

The Chamber of Commerce

The Greene County Department of Development

The Dayton Power and Light Company (DP&L)

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

We found that the majority of companies are not familiar with three of these organizations. Specifically, 38

companies are not familiar with the services of the SBDC, including all of the manufacturing firms in this

report. Most companies are not familiar with the Greene County Department of Development (30)nor DP&Ls business development services (29). For the two organizations having the most famil-

iarity, the Village and the Chamber of Commerce, one-fourth found them not to be helpful, while

about three-fourths of the companies found them to be helpful.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

A number of firms have desires/plans to renovate or expand. Many mention barriers to these

plans.

The Village and Chamber will develop a follow-up process to identify those firms with barriers

to expansion. This may include a business perception survey or business roundtable. The Village, Chamber and the Yellow Springs/Miami Township Community Improvement

Corporation (CIC) will explore the development of a mixed-use park that could incorporate

manufacturing and service firms.

Numerous companies requested assistance from organizations that facilitate business devel-

opment. In conjunction with that, many are unaware of the functions of the various organi-

zations and the full array of resources available to them.

The Village and Chamber will follow-up with all participants of the Retention & Expansion Pro-

gram detailing existing resources available to local businesses.

The Chamber, in cooperation with the CIC, will develop a survey to determine needs/interests oflocal businesses.

The Chamber and CIC will develop a program that will put the business community in touch

with the appropriate resources. This may take the form of a lecture series, workshops, or a

resource guide.

Parking continues to be a concern in the Village.

The Village will continue to educate the community and visitors about parking through a bro-

chure or through local print media.

The Village will review the availability of bicycle stands and the visibility of signage at existingparking to determine if improvements are needed.

The Village and Chamber will explore other solutions to the parking problem, balancing mer-

chants needs with residents concerns for congestion.

yellow springs retention and expansion study - 1998

Documents