Finalized strategic plan to be provided to DDA
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — The Oxford Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors discussed their strategic plan draft for the next three to five years during its meeting on Sept. 16.
President of POW! Strategies Inc, Cristina Sheppard-Decius, met with the DDA at their strategic planning meeting in July, and presented the draft in a slideshow during the board’s Sept. 16, meeting, including several topics and suggestions Sheppard-Decius believes the DDA could complete within the timeframe.
“These are just my suggestions based upon what I know is potentially achievable,” she said.
After attending the DDA’s strategic planning meeting, Sheppard-Decius created a new mission statement for the DDA: The Oxford DDA fosters a vibrant downtown by preserving heritage, stimulating strategic growth, and enriching the community experience for its residents, visitors and businesses.
The next topic was core values, which Sheppard-Decius said should be defining elements that help the DDA make decisions. The DDA’s top three values are community, fun/entertaining and welcoming, while the next four highest were friendly, diverse, safe and vibrant.
Vision was the next topic covered. The long-term vision was listed as “Downtown Oxford: The fun and vibrant heart of the community where small-town historic charm and strategic growth intertwine to provide a walkable and welcoming destination connected to its neighborhoods, offering a rich tapestry of shops, restaurants and events for all to enjoy.”
This statement represents what the DDA wants to achieve.
Sheppard-Decius also reminded the board about the DDA’s role in the community, which is to “improve the quality of life, create a sense of place, attract and retain residents, businesses and talent, spur private reinvestment and increase property value in and around the area.”
The next topic was the DDA’s SWOT analysis that identified its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and key assets.
Listed strengths include a sense of community, events, collaborations with the township, village, businesses and Lake Orion, sense of pride and support from neighbors. Weaknesses include truck traffic, enough parking, walkability, asking too much of staff and a lack of resident base. Opportunities include expanding the free trolley program into neighborhoods, improving connection to the Polly Ann Trail, engaging residents and businesses in participating and volunteering, and gaining more volunteers. The threats listed were traffic, a lack of funds, cost of living, the government procurement process and sustainability. Key assets include the Polly Ann Trail, small-town feel, events, having a hands-on staff and community space.
The next topic was a needs assessment. Physical needs include crosswalks and increased walkability, economic needs include reaching out to a larger market area and assisting entrepreneurs, social needs include a hub where people can get information they need, creating more places for people to gather and connecting the social district across M-24, while organizational needs include gaining more volunteers and improving communication and administrative functions.
Key strategies to obtain goals were also listed – being walkable and welcoming, creating strategic growth and being sustainable. One aspect of these strategies was enhancing the environment and experiences along M-24.
Although additional traffic signals were mentioned as a way to improve traffic flow, village Manager Joe Madore said the Michigan Department of Transportation would fight the village on the issue to keep drivers moving along M-24.
Other parts of the strategies include improving walking and bike access downtown, conducting a housing analysis for downtown living, creating a market profile and building an online presence to help entrepreneurial growth, defining outreach to increase volunteering, and more.
Part of the DDA’s next steps is refining timelines, metrics of success, responsible individuals and committees, and resources as needed. It was also suggested that the DDA assess the plan annually at a dedicated meeting for the next three years.
POW! Strategies will provide a final strategic plan in the future, according to Sheppard-Decius’ slide show.