Mt. Pleasant city commissioners hope to find out what amenities are brining visitors, and where residents go to get what the can’t locally, using a data collection service that tracks cell phones.
Commissioners recently approved spending $18,000 for one year of access to Placer.ai software and no more than $10,000 to pay for interns to interpret the data, with the cost being split between the city, the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, Union Township, the Mt. Pleasant Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Middle Michigan Development Corp.
Placer.ai is a GIS-based aggregate cell phone tracking system that tracks consumer behavior in the area, and Mt. Pleasant City Manager Aaron Desentz stressed the service can’t access cell phone user information but is used by many municipalities in an attempt to find out what types of businesses residents use.
While Commissioner Bryan Chapman cited worries about privacy issues, the proposal passed in a 6-1 vote.
Other commissioners expressed concern about privacy, with Boomer Wingard noting that tracking personal cell phones has moral implications, while Liz Busch said although there are elements about the service that are uncomfortable, part of the commission’s job is to help bring new businesses and economic growth.
Wingard and Busch ultimately agreed that the benefits outweigh possible privacy issues, with Desentz assuring them that no personal information can be obtained.
Chapman was concerned with the idea of a government agency using technology to track people’s movements, but said its use would not be improper for private sector agencies like the chamber and MMDC.
As an example of what Placer.ai can track, Desentz said it collects data like the number of people who go to the farmers market within a given timeframe, and individual data is not available, which guarantees individual protection from oversight.
It is capable of tracking the number of visits to a particular place without being able to identify who the visitors were, Desentz said.
Placer.ai will be used to determine where consumers are going for goods and services to help local entities better fill the gaps and align marketing strategies.
Plans call for the data collected to be reviewed by future stakeholders from Central Michigan University and the local business community to identify the need for new businesses and the expansion of current businesses, using CMU interns at a cost not to exceed $10,000.
While the cost of the service for one year and the cost of interns is $28,000, the city’s partners are helping pay the bill, and if all entities involved contribute equally, it will cost the city a total of $5,600 – with money available in the general fund as part of the city’s economic initiatives fund, according to Desentz.
In addition, other potential partners are being identified, which could bring the cost down more, Desentz said.
