Development and growth have been points of concern for the City of Perry, but City officials will soon get some aid from a specialized service.

At their recent meeting, the Perry City Council approved a contract with Retail Strategies, which will analyze the City’s retail and foodservice operations. City Administrator Sven Peterson says the program involves looking at what Perry currently offers, as well as the City’s demographics. Retail Strategies will compile a list of companies with profiles that meet what Perry needs and has to offer. Additionally, they will train City employees in how to interpret the data, as well as how to reach out to the companies to see if they’d be interested in opening a Perry location.

The service is being funded in part by both Perry Economic Development and the Chamber of Commerce, who are each paying $2,500 of the $10,000 cost. Peterson says it’s great to see both entities get on board with the project, which he hopes will catapult the City into some new development. However, the project isn’t strictly limited to new business, as Peterson explains, “Another important thing about this: it’s not just about bringing in new businesses. It’s also about taking that data and that information, and giving it to our local businesses to be able to say, ‘Maybe this is a market that is missing in Perry that would be closely related to the business you already do.’ Or maybe it’s a new market that they could venture in to. But we’re really hoping that supports our local businesses and attracts new businesses.”

Peterson adds, there’s no definitive timeline for when the City could start seeing some results from the program, but it’s possible they could start seeing some new businesses within the next year. To hear more about this and other City of Perry topics, listen to Tuesday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.