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3 program and inviting them to participate. Members of the Leadership Team, specifically the Visitation Coordinator and the Business Resources Coordinator, would then be responsible for following up with each business. The Task Force would be largely responsible for recruiting volunteers from the community to complete interviews with participating businesses. City staff would also promote the BRE program on the City’s website and through the monthly community newsletters. Due to the importance of how the interviews are conducted, Arden Hills would hire a consultant to hold a training session with volunteers. In order to get a high completion rate, volunteers need to feel confident in doing the business visits and this training can provide them with those necessary skills.3 Upon the completion of this training, volunteers will provide City staff with their general availability and the number of visits they would be willing to do. Administrative staff would then contact participating businesses to schedule meetings and coordinate with volunteers to assign each interview. An important milestone within a BRE program is responding to warning flags identified during the business interviews. Warning flags typically involve issues that are specific to an individual business, such as a problem with public infrastructure or a potential relocation. Responding to warning flags gives the City an opportunity to demonstrate early accomplishments and to build a positive attitude about the BRE program within the business community. During the training session, the consultant would discuss with volunteers how to recognize warning flags in the business interviews. City staff will create a short debrief form to be filled out by volunteers after their visits, which will give them an opportunity to list potential immediate problems. Some of these items can be addressed directly by staff, while more complex issues will need to be discussed by the Task Force Team. Prior to bringing these issues to the Task Force, staff would be responsible for coming up with a recommended response to be reviewed by the larger group. The Task Force retreat to discuss priority projects is a critical component of a BRE program as it lays the groundwork for a successful implementation phase. It is important that the selected priority projects are achievable and that there is political support to actually carry them out. Arden Hills would likely hire a consultant that could complete the data analysis and research 3 Loveridge, Scott and Morse, George. 1997. “Visitation Coordinator Manual”, Implementing Local Business Retention and Expansion Visitation Programs, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, University Park, PA, Publication No. 72