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| Council pays for retail study |
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| Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Friday, 09 May 2008 | |
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“There’s no real harm in knowing our community better.” — Annette Smith City councilwoman There’s a company from Fort Worth, Texas, that claims it knows all your shopping habits, and the Patterson City Council is giving them $70,000 to share that information. Following a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Buxton Co. will produce a “CommunityID” for Patterson, which will be designed to attract retailers to the city. The council hopes the investment will jump-start lagging retail development and pump additional sales tax revenue into the city’s coffers. “There’s no real harm in knowing our community better,” said Councilwoman Annette Smith. The CommunityID goes beyond what standard demographics can provide, Robert Belcher, Buxton’s territory business manager, told the council. Instead, Buxton uses a method called psychographics. “They’re like demographics on steroids,” Belcher said. He said every household in America falls into one of 66 psychographic categories, which describes where those residents prefer to shop. By compiling that information, Patterson will be able to show retailers if there is a strong market for their store. Councilman Sam Cuellar cast the lone dissenting vote. He said if the data is so useful, then the developers should purchase it. “The (land) owners are the ones that benefit,” Cuellar said. He also questioned if the study is even necessary, because potential retailers are doing this type of research on their own. “What’s the benefit?” Cuellar asked. “If we have the population, they are going to come anyway.” He said he might be willing to purchase the data in the future, after a more thorough economic plan for the entire city had been created. “Before we move forward, we need to talk,” he said. In October 2006, Buxton made the same pitch to the council, which opted not to buy it at that time. Instead, they directed staff to ask local retail developers if they would be interested in sharing the cost of the study. Staff said the developers were not. This time around, with a cold housing market, acres of retail space going unused and several new faces on the council, Buxton got the decision it was looking for. “It helps track (retailers) sooner,” said City Manager Cleve Morris. Belcher said the city will see a return when the retailers come and the tax dollars start flowing. “At the end of the day, it’s the city that benefits,” Belcher said. “They reap the sales tax.” The council members, with the exception of Cuellar, agreed and voted to spend the $70,000. “An effective economic program pays for itself if you do it right,” Councilman Dominic Farinha said. To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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