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Liberty Lake weighs data-driven economic development strategy, Placer AI pilot
Summary
City staff proposed preparing a formal local economic development strategy and presented Placer AI location-data tools as a potential subscription resource; council asked for more vendor comparisons and deferred any decision.
Liberty Lake city staff asked the City Council on May 6 to begin preparing a formal local economic development strategy and to consider licensing location-analytics software to support targeted business recruitment, event analysis and tax-revenue forecasting.
The request centered on two points: adopt a council-led framework for an economic development strategy tied to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Strategic Plan, and consider a subscription to Placer AI, a location-analytics platform that provides anonymized mobile-device visit data. "We need to schedule some time as a body to get together and start preparing and implementing that local economic development strategy," a staff member said during the workshop presentation.
Staff emphasized the city’s changing revenue and land-use picture — sales-and-use tax is the single largest revenue source and the city expects substantial development along I-90, Appleway and Country Vista over coming decades. The proposed Placer AI tool would allow staff to analyze where visitors come from, which competing businesses attract visits outside the city and attendance patterns at key venues. Placer AI representative Gannon said the platform draws on anonymized, opt-in location data and can show, for example, how many visitors a sports complex attracts, where they travel from and which nearby businesses they visit afterward.
Council members pressed for practical details. Mayor Pro Tem Cargill asked for competitive options and asked staff to bring back comparables; one councilor said earlier GSI economic services roughly matched the expected annual cost and asked whether staff capacity exists to use the data. Staff replied that the expected subscription would be comparable to the prior GSI package (approximately $15,000–$17,000 annually) and that existing staff could reallocate time to begin the program, with the possibility of a future dedicated economic-development position if needs grow.
No agreement or contract was approved. Staff said they will return with a license agreement and additional vendor comparisons for council consideration, and recommended holding a facilitated planning session to set strategic targets and partners before procurement.
If the council chooses to proceed, staff said the Placer AI subscription would be available to city employees, and the vendor would provide training and support. The presentation also highlighted potential uses beyond business recruitment — measuring event attendance, tracking tourism-related spending and estimating sales-tax impacts.
Council members supported further vetting. "I think it would be really helpful, especially as we are targeting businesses to relocate into our city, to be able to tell them…where people are coming and going," Mayor Pro Tem Cargill said. Councilmember Kurtz said the step would reflect the city’s maturation and planning needs.
Staff will return with a detailed procurement recommendation, price quotes, and options for a short planning retreat to shape the economic development strategy.
