“It’s not just Mr. Larweth,” Hutchinson said after Thursday’s commission meeting. “A lot of things have happened in a very short window of time, and it’s now caused lease rates or rental rates to go up and caused displacement [of local businesses].  These are things that happen normally, but now that has happened within a short window of time. It’s accelerated the dynamics, and so we have to kind of respond. I think it's a good moment to kind of step back and recalibrate, to adjust to the new marketplace and come up with a strategy that matches the Winter Garden values and at the same time respect the marketplace.”

Presenting the plan to the commission for approval, Hutchinson explained that the Birmingham, Alabama-based Retail Strategies would provide “actionable policy and incentive recommendations … targeted small business recruitment, retention and access to their small business online training platform to help merchants succeed as operators.”

Polka Dotz owner Heidi Hardman, who lost the lease to her accessories store's Plant Street location when Larweth purchased the building earlier this year, then opted not to renew her lease, appeared skeptical.

“ How is it really gonna help with our small businesses now that have been misplaced or put in a, you know, less desirable area … How is this going to help as far as that goes?” she asked during the public comment period. Once her lease expires in June, she is moving around the corner to a store on Main Street.

While Hutchinson spoke about “actionable items or actionable deliverables,” Cappelman cut to the chase: “The skills of this particular group is that they will also offer training to the current businesses to give them some better ability to cope with the challenges that they might endure … and with rents going up in Winter Garden as rapidly as they are, they’re probably going to be well-advised to listen to some of the ideas about how to run a more efficient business and maybe do better marketing. We think that aspect will also be helpful to the existing businesses we’ve got today.”

For existing Winter Garden businesses, the Retail Strategies contract provides for twice-yearly workshops with property owners; self-paced training to get up to speed on digital marketing, business modernization and lease negotiations, among other business practices; a community-wide survey about the types of businesses that are wanted and needed in the downtown area; and an evaluation of municipal policies that may be inhibiting business development with recommendations for improvement.  

“I think this is just a stronger foot forward, responding to the marketplace. The consultant will provide us with strategies, given the current conditions, to help undergird the small business operator," Hutchinson told VoxPopuli. "A lot of the services will extend to all of Winter Garden businesses.”

District 4 Commissioner Colin Sharman added that the city was seeking “different, diverse opinions that might bring a solution that we don’t know about today that could potentially help you.”