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"Do I have to live in Midway?"
"No, you only have to love Midway"
Interested in serving on one of the Renaissance Committees?
Email Randy Thomas
(phone 859-846-4050)
Mailing:
PO Box 4354
Midway, KY 40347-4354
Office Answering Machine
859-846-4049
Board Members
Randy Thomas - President
Becky Moore - Vice President
Pam Thomas - Secretary
Sarah Rathbone - Treasurer
Judy Stallons
Joy Arnold
Phil Gerrow
Bob Rathbone
Cecelia Gass
Board Meetings: Agendas & Minutes
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The Midway Market Study
Timeline and Progress Report - Documents are PDF
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| As the Market Study project progresses, this page will report on the progress and make accessible all documents generated. As the project moves forward, input and participation from the broader community is important as it provides fresh ideas and community ownership of this valuable Study. |
October 3, 2011 Update
The Midway Market Study arrived today! |
The Market Study is available as a PDF document you can download by clicking on the links below. Josh Bloom, our consultant from CLUE Group, LLC, has provided two versions of the Study.
The version 'without Indexes' is a 39-page document that summarizes the Study, provides the results of the Business and Consumer Surveys, an analysis of the market, conclusions, and recommendations.
The version 'with Indexes' is a 91-page document that includes all of the above plus the Tip Sheets for Restauranteurs and Retailers, the actual Surveys for Businesses and for Consumers, a Midway Business Inventory, Demographic Profiles, and Psychographic Profiles.
Restaurant and Retailer Tip Sheets are two-page sheets that offer some practical ideas derived from the Market Study - information retailers and restaurant owners can use to both improve their enterprises and, in the process, attract new customers to Midway.
Process - right-click on the Market Study link of your choice, choose 'save as' and save the PDF file to your computer to read at your leisure. (f you don't have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, you will first need to download the free software by clicking 'Get Adobe Reader'. It's good to have the latest version, not just to read these documents, but because many web pages will direct you to PDF documents. Obtain the latest version of
Adobe Acrobat Reader for free by clicking the following icon -
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Midway Market Study with Indexes (7MB)
Midway Market Study - without Indexes (2.5MB)
Tip Sheet for Restauranteurs (414KB)
Tip Sheet for Retailers (418KB)
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August 31 Update
On Monday, August 29th, Renaissance held a Public Forum in the Fellowship Hall at Midway Christian Church to present a synopsis of the findings and recommendations of our Market Study Consultant. Renaissance is tremendously grateful to Pastor Heather McColl and her congregation for hosting this gathering, which followed their first Community Dinner.
As Pastor McCall told Renaissance president, Randy Thomas,
"Our hope was that people would come and get to know people in our community so we can strengthen the bonds of that community, which will benefit everyone! Mark your calendar, because we are hoping to do this once a month from now on. The next one will be Monday, September 26th at 6:30pm."
The Public Forum was well attended, and our Market Study Consultant presented an overview of his report, which included suggestions for action items by business owners, government, churches and organizations, and individual citizens. The complete Market Study will be available here soon as a downloadable PDF, or you may contact any of the Renaissance board members listed in the column at left and ask them to get a copy to you as soon as it's available. |
August 5 Update
After several schedule changes due to the workload of our consultant, CLUE Group, the Market Study project is moving forward. A draft of the Study will be reviewed by the Market Study Committee (representatives of Midway Renaissance, Midway City Council, Midway Business Association and Woodford County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Commission) in mid-August. The Market Study and Recommendations will be presented to all interested community members by our CLUE Group consultant at our second
Public Forum on the project, scheduled for Monday, August 29th at 7:30pm at Midway Christian Church, following their Community Dinner. An announcement of the Public Forum will also be posted on Facebook and distributed to the Woodford Sun, the Midway Messenger, and the Midway Business Association. |
July 13 Update
Renaissance volunteers completed the Consumer Surveys in downtown Midway over a two week period in April, and turned the surveys over to Clue Group. Our consultant notified us of a delay in the project, and the draft analysis would not be ready for Committee review until mid-July.
We expect to receive the draft any day, and will schedule a Committee review promptly. The Public Forum to present the resulting report, originally planned for June, will likely be held in August.
The Market Study Committee currently includes the following individuals (several original Committee members have withdrawn due to other commitments):
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| Committee Members |
| Joy Arnold - Midway Renaissance / Midway City Council |
| Marcie Christensen - Midway Renaissance |
| Becky Moore - Midway Renaissance / Midway City Council |
| Randy Thomas - Midway Renaissance |
| Mary & Eric Thoreson - Midway Business Association / Damselfly Gallery |
| Tami Vater - Woodford County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Commission |
April 8 Update
Clue Group conducted a Business Survey in March, and this month is conducting a Consumer Survey. From April 13th through April 23rd, you may see Renaissance volunteers stationed in downtown Midway to interview residents and visitors who have come to shop and/or dine.
Next steps - The Market Study consultant will present a draft analysis for review by our Committee in mid-May. We'll be scheduling another Public Forum in June to present the resulting report. |
Notes from the March 7th Public Forum
Renaissance presented a public forum at Midway Christian Church to introduce
Josh Bloom, our Market Study Consultant from CLUE Group. During the presentation and a question-and-answer period that followed, the audience learned about the scope of the project - what it is intended to achieve, what information will be included, as well as what factors are outside the scope of this study.
- Surveys will be conducted in March and April to learn about present businesses' strategies and consumer behaviors downtown.
- CLUE Group will analyze the data and compare it to regional and national economic indicators, along with information gathered from interviews and focus groups conducted in town and the review of past documents reflecting visioning, planning, and surveys in Midway.**
- CLUE Group will produce a market strategy for Midway, with specific recommendations for action by individual business owners, city government, Midway Business Association, Midway Renaissance, and residents.
Over the next three months, the Market Study Committee will work with Josh, providing information designed to help identify Midway's own niche in the region's current and future economy. The ultimate goal is to learn the best ways to position downtown as a sustainably vibrant center of our community - a place that engages visitors and residents alike and that is designed to thrive.
Midway Renaissance is grateful to Midway Christian Church for hosting this gathering, and wishes to thank all the folks who took the time to attend and participate. |
Read the Midway Messenger article about the Public Forum on the Market Study
**Our Archive section offers documents generated by planning and surveys from the year 2000 on. |
On February 15, the Renaissance board approved a Market Study timeline - document at right - outlining the tasks and completion dates for our Consultant and the Market Study Committee.
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Committee that developed the Request for Proposals and selected the consultant was polled on their interest in continuing to serve this project through completion. Those remaining on the Committee include Joy Arnold, Marcie Christensen, Becky Moore, Bob Rathbone, Randy Thomas, Mary/Eric Thoreson, and Tami Vater. |
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January 25 - CLUE Group, of Arlington, VA, was recommended by the Market Study Committee to the Renaissance Board at their meeting on January 25. The board voted to sign a contract with the consultant. At right is CLUE Group's proposal, an example report, and the contract.
Josh Bloom will visit Midway on March 7th & 8th, and will participate in a public forum to introduce the project to all interested community members. Please mark your calendar and make plans to join us! |
Proposal from CLUE Group
Example Report
Contract
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January 2010 - The Market Study Committee met on January 4th to review proposals submitted by five consultants.
All members present had independently reviewed and scored the proposals presented, along with all of the responses provided by the references provided by each consultant. Randy Thomas led the meeting and proposed the following process for proposal review –
- The committee, by consensus, would reduce the number of proposals under consideration by eliminating any proposals that did not meet all criteria outlined in the RFP
- The committee would discuss the remaining proposals, with each member in turn explaining his or her reasons for their priority ranking
- A list of questions committee members had for any of the consultants would be compiled
The committee, by unanimous agreement, eventually reduced the number of proposals under final consideration to two consultants. Each member, in turn, then explained his or her own reasons for rating one of the two consultants higher than the other, and expressed any concerns about details in either the proposals or the example reports provided.
Every committee member gave the highest rating to CLUE Group, of Arlington, VA.
The selected consultant was notified the following day, and will present a contract to Midway Renaissance on January 17. |
| December 2010 - The Request for Proposals was distributed in October to consultants recommended by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program and to consultants who requested the opportunity to bid on the project. By the December 15 deadline, Renaissance received five proposals. A Committee of representatives from Renaissance, Midway Business Association, and Midway City Council will review the proposals and recommend one consultant to the Renaissance board by mid-January. The winning proposal will be published here as soon as a contract with the consultant is signed. |
| Committee Members & Affiliation |
| Joy Arnold - Midway Renaissance / Midway City Council |
| Cynthia Bohn - Equus Run Vineyards / Midway Business Association |
| Marcie Christensen - Midway Renaissance |
| John McDaniel - Thoroughbred Theater / Midway Business Association |
| Becky Moore - Midway Renaissance / Midway City Council |
| Bill & Leslie Penn - Historic Midway Museum Store / Midway Business Association |
| Bob Rathbone - Midway Renaissance |
| Randy Thomas - Midway Renaissance |
| Mary & Eric Thoreson - Damselfly Gallery / Midway Business Association |
| Tami Vater - Woodford County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Commission |
| In August a committee of Midway Renaissance and Midway Business Association members met and drafted an RFP, and on September 28 the Midway Renaissance Board approved the document for distribution to consultants. |
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On Tuesday, July 27, Tad Long of the Kentucky League of Cities facilitated a meeting of the City's Renaissance Committee (Sharon Turner, Doris Leigh, and Charlann Wombles), a Committee of Midway Renaissance (Joy Arnold, Becky Moore, and Bob Rathbone along with Marcie Christensen), and a Committee of the Midway Business Association (John McDaniel, Leslie Penn, and Eric Thoreson). The group agreed to recommend City Council adopt a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to sign a 3-way Memorandum of Agreement, making Midway Renaissance the recipient of the grant funds and responsible for the contract and all reporting requirements.
Next steps - a committee of Renaissance and the Midway Business Association will develop a Request for Proposals to hire a consultant for the project, and make plans for a public forum to engage citizen input.
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| Project Background - Fall 2009 to July 26, 2010 |
In the fall of 2009 Midway Renaissance learned there were Renaissance grant funds available to Main Street Programs certified by the Kentucky Heritage Council.
After several meetings with representatives of the City and the Midway Business Association, and after follow-up correspondence between the Mayor and President of the Board of Midway Renaissance, the Renaissance Board and the Midway Business Association asked City Council to approve the application for a Market Study.
In response to funding concerns expressed by the Mayor, Marcie Christensen (Main Street Manager) requested a letter from Harry Carver (Renaissance Liaison in the Governor's Deparment for Local Government) to clarify the turnaround time for requests for reimbursement. |
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| On December 21, 2009 the Midway City Council passed a Resolution approving the filing of a grant application by Midway Renaissance, Inc. |
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| Midway Renaissance Board of Directors prepared an application for a $20,000 grant and submitted it to the Kentucky Heritage Council. |
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On July 2, 2010 Midway Renaissance and City Council received notice the grant had been awarded in an amount not to exceed $15,000. Renaissance Board President Randy Thomas sent a letter to the Mayor, City Council members, and the Midway Business Association to announce the award. "Our proposal was a joint effort and I believe that the market study will provide all of us with very valuable information as we work together to make Midway an even better place to live, work and prosper," said Thomas in the letter.
On July 5, Marcie Christensen, Main Street Manager, sent the Press Release at right to the Woodford Sun and the Midway Messenger. |
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At the July 19 City Council meeting, the Mayor announced there will be a meeting on Tuesday, July 27, facilitated by Tad Long of the Kentucky League of Cities and attended by the City's Renaissance Committee (Sharon Turner, Doris Leigh, and Charlann Wombles), a Committee of Midway Renaissance (Randall Thomas, Rebecca Moore, and Robert Rathbone along with Marcie Christensen), and a Committee of the Midway Business Association (John McDaniel and two additional representatives of the Association).
On July 21, the Assistant City Clerk sent the Agenda at right to Randy Thomas and John McDaniel. |
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