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Commission narrows business‑visit questionnaire and plans summer outreach
Summary
The Economic Development Commission reviewed and shortened a business‑visit questionnaire, agreed to use a Google Form, and asked commissioners to begin summer outreach visits; staff will collate anonymized responses for fall analysis.
Commissioners reviewed a draft business‑visit questionnaire on May 21 and agreed to streamline questions, keep individual business responses confidential if requested, and collect visits over the summer to inform fall policy work.
Nicole, the city community liaison, gave a short history: the program began around 2015–2016 and collected business input that staff previously summarized, but that process stalled during COVID. "The business visit program, just as a little recap, was probably 2015, '20 '16," she said, and urged the commission to renew the effort.
Members debated question scope, length and anonymity. Joelle Gibson, who had done earlier interviews, said confidentiality encouraged candid answers: "If we could keep it confidential and not name specific businesses, we could maybe identify different groupings like... hospitality, service, retail... but not call out business specific. I think we're gonna get more transparency and, honest conversation." Commissioners agreed to capture company category rather than publish company names, while staff will keep a private list to avoid duplicate interviews.
The group trimmed the draft toward about six to nine core items. Key topics to surface: number of employees working in Snoqualmie, how many live in the Snoqualmie Valley, top two or three business concerns, what local leaders could do to help, and what businesses are optimistic about. Commissioners recommended using a short rating or scale for navigability with city processes and leaving room for open comments.
Staff offered a practical workflow: commissioners will conduct interviews (two or three each over the summer), submit forms to staff (Google Form preferred), and staff will collate anonymized results for a fall briefing. Mona, the community development director, and Nicole said they will support compilation once additional staff are in place.
Commissioners emphasized that interviews should remain conversational rather than a strict written survey and that business owners should be reassured that summary reports will not link answers to specific businesses unless the owner agrees.
