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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPAC.2023.0524.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION May 24, 2023 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Patrick Garman called to order the meeting of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission at 4:01 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Members Present Chairman Patrick Garman, Vice Chairman Bernie Hoenle; Commissioner Kevin Beck; Commissioner Jill Keefe; Commissioner Cynthia Magazine; Commissioner Phil Sveum, Commissioner Geoff Yazzetta Members Absent: Commissioner Kevin Beck; Commissioner Jill Keefe Staff Present: Deputy Town Manager David Trimble; Executive Assistant Angela Padgett -Espiritu 3. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A R S. §38-431 o1(N), public comment is permitted (nor required) on matters NOT listed on the agenda. Any such comment (1) must be wimin the jurisdiction of Me Council. and (ill is subject to reasonable dice, pace. and manner restrictions. The council will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during call to the Public unless the matters am properly noticed for discussion and legal action. At ibe conclusion of the Cell to the Public. individual councilmembers may (i) respond to criticism. till ask staff to review a matter. or Off) ask that the matter be placed on a Mum Council agenda. No one from the public spoke. 4. REPORTS BY COMMISSIONERS AND TOWN MANAGER Chairman Patrick Garman Commissioner Phil Sveum Commissioner Cynthia Magazine Commissioner Geoff Yazzetta Vice Chairman Bernie Hoenle Deputy Town Manager Dave Trimble 5. UPDATE: Fountain Hills 2022 Strategic Plan Implementation • Economic Development Director Amanda Jacobs • Chief Financial Officer David Pock (tabled to next meeting) 6. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Appoint a Commission Vice Chairman MOVED BY Vice Chairman Bernie Hoenle to APPOINT Commissioner Geoff Yazzetta to Vice Chairman of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting, SECONDED BY Commissioner Cynthia Magazine Vote: 5 — 0 passed — Unanimously 7. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Appoint a Commission Chairman MOVED BY Commissioner Geoff Yazzetta to REAPPOINT Chairman Patrick Garman to Chairman of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting, SECONDED BY Commissioner Cynthia Magazine Vote: 5 — 0 passed — Unanimously 8. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN 9. NEXT MEETING DATE: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 10. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Patrick Garman adjourned the regular meeting at 4:52 p.m. TO OF FO HILLS Pat ' k Garman, Chairman TTEST AND PREPARED BY: ge'-Espir ., ecutive Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting held by the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 24'h day of May 2023 that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DAT,his 28th day of Jun 2023. —is 1 Angela Pad t-E iritu, Executive Assistant TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 1 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Post -Production File Town of Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of Regular Meeting May 24, 2023 Transcription Provided By: eScdbers, LLC Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. Page 1 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 2 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING GARMAN: All right, I'm going to call to order this meeting of the Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission as of May 24th, 2023. So Angela, could you start things off with the roll call, please. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes. Thank you, Chair. Chairman Garman. GARMAN: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Chairman Hoenle. HOENLE: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Commissioner Beck. Commissioner Keefe. Commissioner Magazine. MAGAZINE: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Commissioner Sveum. SVEUM: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: And Commissioner Yazzetta. YAZZETTA: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Thank you. We have a quorum. GARMAN: All right, awesome. We have a quorum this afternoon. Okay. So next, number 3 on the agenda, I'm going to go down to the Call to the Public. I don't know if anybody submitted any comments, Angela. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: No. We have -- we have no one. Thank you. GARMAN: All right. So no Call to the Public this afternoon either. So were moving along. Let's move down to number 4, which is going to be reports by Commissioners and the Town Manager. And were going to start things off today with our -- our newest Commissioner, Phil Sveum. SVEUM: Correct. GARMAN: Close as -- close, 1 will learn. But I think Phil was just sworn in today. So were going to let him go first and -- and do introductions. So go ahead, Phil. SVEUM: Oh, thank you. Pleasure to be here. I'm anxious to provide whatever 1 can for my input and -- and serve the community. My wife and I moved here last year. We're very excited to be in Fountain Hills. As I mentioned, I'm a graduate of Arizona State, 1976. Been coming back ever since and Page2of24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 3 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING knew we'd end up here some -- at some point. And today of -- sale of our business in Wisconsin and moved here a little bit earlier than I thought. But enough is enough. We're happy -- happy to be here and I'm happy to -- to serve on this committee. GARMAN: Awesome, thank you. Thank you very much. So moving along, I guess from left to -- left to right, Cynthia. MAGAZINE: I think for the first time 1 have really nothing to report. Can you believe it? GARMAN: Geoff YAZZETTA: Good afternoon, everyone. First, Phil, welcome to the Commission. I had been here for about a year when I was appointed as well. So I see you like the ground running, too. So looking forward to getting to know you better and serving alongside you here. Real quick Senate Kavanagh secured a $10 million fund within the state's budget for the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. 1 sit on that board, along with Kevin Beck. And all of a sudden, overnight, the project went from being, we hope we can do this to it is a viable project now. We're at $18 and a half million. And we need to raise a total of about 25 million. So some larger donors are starting to look at this with a little more credibility and then possibility here. So were hoping to get this project started sooner than later. It'll dovetail nicely with a lot of what we've got going on here in the strategic plan and I think we'll be a big boost for the town. So that's all I got, thank you. GARMAN: That's great. And I know, Joel (ph.), 1 think he briefed us just a few months ago on that -- YAZZETTA: Yeah. GARMAN: -- so yeah. Bernie. HOENLE: Glad to be here. 1 just came out of the last two hours meeting on the street committee. And our next order of business we'll make a presentation to the Council on the 20th of June. And right now just working through a lot of details. GARMAN: Nothing like being in the crucible in that, right? Dave -- I know you -- David, right? TRIMBLE- Yes. Page 3 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 0 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING GARMAN: Okay. Sorry, 1 wanted to make sure. Anything for the Commission? TRIMBLE: Not that's on the -- again, Dave Trimble, Deputy Town Manager, Administrative Services Director. I'm sitting in for Rachel Goodwin, Town Manager, who wanted to be here. She is upstairs where Bernie just came from, on the streets committee, working with them. So that is a meeting that's still going on. So thanks for coming down, Bernie. And welcome to Phil. That's my only real update this morning. And from time to time, the staff, at their weekly management meeting will go over the SPAC's strategic plan. And we did that. And just kind of a touch in -- touch base on it. So we did that this moming. And I know we have Amada Jacobs here, our Economic Development Director, who'll give us more on the -- on her end of things. But we did touch base on all the different touchpoints this morning. So that's about it. GARMAN: Awesome. Great, thank you. So moving down to agenda item 5, I -- we, you know, we do updates, implementation updates, I'm -- periodically provided by the town. And if you look at the outstanding document that was printed out and given to us. It's the strategic plan and it's, I guess it's more of a timeline implementation plat, timeline. 1 would call it the template that we have. And if you look, the -- the column about three over, it says, "Projected Completion Dates." So we put those in to -- to the last plan to kind of give us an estimate, you know, to look and see how things are doing on implementation. So a few of them, you know, were -- had the first year, which March would have been the first year. So I know looking through those and talking to Angela and Rachel, tried to get the folks from the town that were responsible for those items that we thought could be done within the first year to -- to come and brief us during this year, and at least before we go on our summer recess at the end of June. So it's really awesome to have those folks here. So I know David Pock is going to come in June. I think John Wesley is going to come in June to talk. And we wanted to thank Amanda for coming, economic development piece of the plan, to talk to us today. So thank you very much. The floor is yours. JACOBS: Your welcome. So Mr. Chair, Commissioners, good to see you guys. It's been, I think, a year since I presented. 1 know when I was before you, it was just four Page of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 5 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING months being into -- in the role. So 1 was drinking from a firehose. Sometimes 1 still feel like that. And so as the Chairman mentioned, just going to focus on a couple of the items that are that -- that first year. Just give you a heads up. And so the targeted collaborative economic development, one of the items is a business advisory group. And that's changed a bit since, you know, I was drinking out of the firehose. So how were tackling this item is several ways. So in June of last year, I started meeting with several business owners in the downtown area. And there was a desire to really focus on the Avenue. And so the downtown area takes into account Vere River, Parkview, and Palisades. But because there's a lot of development and growth already happening on the Avenue, this particular group, again, wanted to just focus their efforts on the Avenue. And so after six months of meeting, they officially formed the Avenue Merchant Association in January are meeting monthly. And so again, that's taken up a lot of my -- my time. And that is good, because who is at the table are business owners on the Avenue. And so they're able to tell me that, you know, we want to see more commercial growth as business owners and most of them, too, are -- are residents. They're wanting to see more activity, such as events. In the budget, we have a line item for -- for placemaking. So doing more art, but not sculptures. Looking at different murals. A lot of our businesses don't like to look at those lovely, white utility boxes in front of their businesses and are wondering, you know, could we work with SRP to turn that into artistic pieces. And so again, that not just ties into the economic development quality of life but, of course, tourism. Also, the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce, monthly, has industry stakeholder meetings. And so putting together folks from retail, from the financial and health institutions. And so I'm attending those meetings as well. And it's really good to hear from these folks, especially the restaurants in retail because things, as we know, have been challenging during COVID and after. And so they're knowing firsthand, you know, the struggles and -- and what we can do. And of course, I've been saying, and some of you've heard, the biggest struggle, obviously, is work force. And so having to -- to really tackle that. That, of course, is a Page 5 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 6 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING national issue not just a Fountain Hills issue. And some of it being truly stemming from -- from COVID. We were forced to go inside the doors. We want to stay in our home. It's much more fun. We don't want to go to the office. So there's -- there's that part. But there's also looking at our demographics. And our average age is 58. And so in the coming months during summer, I know some people are taking a break and a recess, but I will be rolling up my sleeves, meeting with council and putting together, finally, that proposed economic development strategy. And the goal is, I'll be working with the chairman to bring that to -- to SPAC to get your guys' feedback before it goes to council to see if you want to provide comments, if you want to make an official recommendation. But we're going to have to start having hard conversations of, do we want to just stay as is, status quo? Do we want to be known as a retirement community? Or what I'm hearing is no. We want to be vibrant. We want to grow. And in order to do that, we are going to have to -- to change, sort of -- of our makeup. But it's also changing some of our -- our policies. And then last year, too, with the Business Advisory Group, I've been meeting again with current, but then also some retired business owners that, again, have relocated here, like Phil. Phil and I have had a conversation. So that when we have people knocking on the door to say, hey, we're interested in Fountain Hills, that I have folks that I can pick on to say, hey, do you mind taking someone on a tour of Fountain Hills. Or you know, they're sort of interested in bioscience. Tapping into people to say, okay, how are you successful? What do you see the, you know, success in Fountain Hills? So that is how we're tackling this. The next one, again, and not that first year, continue to improve the public health, well- being, and safety of our town. So here, it was just two years, I think, last month or earlier this month that Fountain Hills Medical Center celebrated their two years. They were here before council last week giving updates. And so sometimes this month, I know we're almost at the end of it, but they'll be providing telehealth services for our residents. And then they're also looking at, hopefully, corning soon, that they're going to be able to provide ambulance service. Last year on our health primary care and urgent care opened. And so again, just looking at that targeted industry of -- of how can we grow but finding Page 6 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 7 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING out from residents what else can we do to expand services to our residents and visitors. And then, of course, too, the town is officially a dementia -friendly community. And then, I'm just going to look to Mr. Trimble to help me, and I think there was the first Memory Cafe -- TRIMBLE: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: -- thank you -- that has -- that has occurred. And then, so again, even though these are in one year, a lot of this we see as -- as ongoing. It's not, oh, it's done, we're not going to do this next year. We'll continue to -- to focus on these efforts. And so with that, any questions I may answer'? GARMAN: So thanks. We're going to open it up for discussion and -- and questions. And I already saw one for you out of the corner of my eye, but Cynthia. MAGAZINE When is the first Memory Cafe and where is it located? JACOBS: That's where I'm gong to need help. I think it's occurred. So Mr. Trimble -- TRIMBLE: Yup. JACOBS: Okay. TRIMBLE: I'm not the expert either but I did ask a few questions because I didn't know what it was all about either. So it's a -- it's kind of like an ongoing event at the Community Center that is sponsored by the town. So they -- if I'm understanding it right, it's a place where both the -- the person that's having issues remembering things, maybe me right now, and their caregivers can go for a little bit of a respite, if you will, because, you know, it's just an ongoing thing that just wears on people that are particularly giving -- giving care. And also the folks with dementia issues. With memory issues. But they can go and gather and -- and just be together with people of the same issues and -- and kind of get away. Get out of the house for a while. I'm sure there's more to it and Jennifer Lyons and/or it'd be Sheryl Ponzo (ph.) over at the Community Center probably could brief us more on that. But that's kind of the idea, is a little bit of a respite for a couple of hours. JACOBS: And then Commissioner Magazine, we'll follow up. I can send you an email, just to make sure that -- is it happening the third Tuesday or, you know, of' every month. I'll follow up on that. GARMAN: And you just -- there you go. How are you? Page 7 or 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 8 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING SVEUM: How's it going to be determined whether this is going to be a retirement community or a vibrant, diversified community? JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, Commissioners, really what -- what that's going to be is -- is our residents and through this proposed economic development strategy. So some things I've -- I've chatted with a few of you about. Or again, publicly is, for instance, taking that downtown area, looking at Palisades, we've had some challenges. So there's office that is available, where I could submit a proposal or get somebody in there, but were having issues with the zoning. So for instance, bioscience or optics. Some of that leans more towards industrial, for instance. And so were having to say, no. Because with some of these proposals, they're showing a growth plan. So were going to have to look to see, to be more attractive, have the proper zoning. But then, looking at the downtown, there's going to have to be policies and investments made to make it vibrant. To make it attractive to young professionals. Some of that is sort of low hanging. Some of it is a lower cost. But some of it is a larger investment that well have to see if — if over time, Council and the community are -- are supportive. And so again, it won't be overnight. It won't be in a year. But different strategies can make it a vibrant, growing downtown. SVEUM: Can I follow up on that? GARMAN: Yeah, 1 didn't, and one thing, if you have -- when you have the time, we have the strategic plan that -- that we helped draft. You know, it was approved by our Council, March of 2022. It's just over a year ago. So that contains, you know, four pillars, and one of those is economic development. But things like -- like you talked about is -- is throughout the strategic plan. And one of those, when --you kind of looked at brand image, that' sone -- how we going to image the town? So these -- these are topics that are in -- to help provide a guidepost in the strategic plan, but our council, you know, elections every two years, work on this, seems like every month. What's our town going to be? Right? And -- and the voters have a say in that through their elected members. And then, we just help provide guidance based on information that we gather from the town. But a lot of the tasks and the ways are -- are in the current strategic plan. And wherein the previous one -- and the previous one on ways to -- to do Page 8 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 9 of 24 MAY 20, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING what Amanda is talking about. Okay, now, you can follow up. Go ahead. SVEUM: Well, 1 think more from -- from a -- a residential angle of how people can be able to move here and find affordable homes or apartments. And what -- what can be done to enable that to happen. And 1 guess it goes back to how do people living here have a -- what's their vision of it to become? Is it another 10,000 people? Is it another 15,000? Is it -- is it staying as it is? That's -- that's my question. I don't have an answer. I'm just wondering how that type of surveying is done with the community. Is there going to be an effort to do that? I -- that's what I'm -- that's what I guess the larger question is. GARMAN: And we -- we are that vessel to a certain extent. When I say, "we are," we are -- we help as being part of that vessel, like, it's our charge to see what the pulse is of the town, do surveys, do workshops, do interactions, and see what the town is thinking. And in a kind of a nonpartisan way, put together an overarching plan. And we've touched on all those things, just within the last year. But you know, we'll talk a little bit about affordable housing and demographics and -- and all of that, that are a part of the town. But you -- you're exactly correct. Those are all issues that we -- that we deal with. JACOBS: Nope. That -- that was perfect. And then 1 know, Geoff and Phil were able to tell what -- attend one of our workshops where, too, we introduce the concept of work force housing. And then so far, I mean, it was a smaller group that attended but they -- they were interested. They're like, okay, we -- we get it. Because again, it's -- it's starting at sort of that higher foot level and -- and why were proposing some of this. I think sometimes it's that that, also the root cause of -- of why are we asking? Why -- why are we changing? So but no, perfect. Perfect answer. Chairman Garman. GARMAN: Geoff, go ahead. YAZZETTA: Real quick, I just want to address something you were asking about. So the strategic plan, if you look at the council agendas and planning and zoning agendas, you'll see Guiding Principles. And those guiding principles stem from this plan. So you can see how it tethers into the decisions that Planning -- Planning and Zoning are making recommendations. But the decisions Council makes reflect what's in this plan. I mean, we advise them, we don't direct them. Page 9 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 10 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING SVEUM: Sure. YAZZETTA: Yeah. I just want to fill you in on that. SVEUM: Of course. YAZZETTA: Cynthia, you had your light on first. So do you want to go? MAGAZINE: No. If you have more, go ahead -- YAZZETTA: Oh, okay. MAGAZINE: -- talk later. GARMAN: Go ahead, Geoff. YAZZETTA: Director Jacobs, great to see you. JACOBS: Great to see you. YAZZETTA: I've said it many times before, you bring a great energy to this position. And it's very important for the economic development and the vibrance in this town. I know we've had many discussions, you know, in person, at the events you've hosted. I wanted to ask about the utility boxes. Is that just an idca right now? Or is that something that is already in process? Because my colleagues and I in the City of Los Angeles, we did many, many utility boxes. And if you need, like, a primer on it, 1'd be happy to furnish that information to you. JACOBS: Thank you. So Chairman, Commissioner, so I'll still say ifs preliminary. We've had -- last year we started conversations with -- with SRP to -- and they -- they were open. And so then it was now getting some funding. So now it will be after June 6th. If the budget is adopted, we'll start having more formal conversations. And then, putting together a timeline to start seeing some of these things happen. Because again, it was, it's now been almost over a year. I remember my first day, starting to walk downtown, talking to the businesses and, like, could you do something about this? And of course, you know, you want to make a -- a good impression. So it's like, oh, rats, it's been over a year. But hopefully, in our first quarter of the budget, so July to September, we can start to see things happen. YAZZETTA: Sure. JACOBS: Build some excitement. YAZZETTA: Yeah. We used a -- JACOBS: Thank you. 1 appreciate -- I appreciate your help. Page 10 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 11 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING YAZZETTA: -- of course. Yeah, we used grant funding, local businesses would sponsor them. And it's a great way to showcase local artists. I know there's a lot of local artists here in Fountain Hills. So just, you know, another one of those things that you notice while you're in town. It's like, hey, there's something special about this place. So excellent, thank you again for everything you do. JACOBS: Thank you. GARMAN: Awesome. Cynthia. MAGAZINE: I'm going to throw you a curve, perhaps. But I think that you heard Geoff mention the Discovery Center, the Dark Skys Discovery Center, the huge funding that were now getting from the State. It's probably just a question of time before we begin to build it. JACOBS: Um -hum. MAGAZINE: I think the town needs to get ready for that and I'm wondering if you have anticipated that? This is probably something that would be addressed in the next plan, by the time this is built. But 1 think it wouldn't hurt for the person in charge of economic development to include the Center in your discussions with businesses you're trying to attract. I mean, because this is going to be a real star. [LAUGHTER] JACOBS: Yeah, pun intended, right, Cynthia? And so, yes, we are starting as -- as staff, so community services, our town manager, development services, public works. Again, it's going to take an army. We're starting to -- to plan for that. And then just last week, starting to have discussions again with the other piece of the puzzle, with the Dark Sky Association on programing. How can we make it more robust? What is similar? What's in alignment with the Discovery Center? What are things we need to plan for? And some of it's been timely. I've just, you know, Geoff saying this -- this announcement. But also, we've found out just a couple weeks ago, the Arizona Office of Tourism, they had started a couple years ago through Governor Ducey, a visit Arizona initiative. So taking some of the ARPA funding, targeting it towards tourism, because that again was one of the largest industries hit by COVID 19. And how do we make our -- our marketing more robust? And so I asked the staff, we have a new governor, there's also a new director of AOT, is Page 11 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 12 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING this going to continue? And it is. And so this year we were able to secure $230,000. And we were able to give a portion of that, only 25,000, to sponsor the Dark Sky festival. But having conversations of -- beyond just the festival, what arc ideas that —just the Dark Sky, so the Board, the Association have, that we should start thinking about and maybe could secure more -- more grant funding. And so we'll be meeting with them again in another couple of weeks. And we also had a conversation last week with Mayor Dickey and Manager Goodwin of, it's also probably timely to have the Council and Board meet up in a workshop. And so we'll be planning that in the fall. So Commissioner, we're on it. MAGAZINE: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: To my left -- to my right, okay, so I have a few. Can you go back to the -- the actually, the begin, like, the second slide? Yeah, that -- JACOBS: Yeah. GARMAN: -- the Business Advisory Group. That was specifically in our plan. So is there a plan, and this has been espoused by some of the commissioners as far as topics to put on our agenda, going forward. And we -- we have a lengthy list. We try to get to them. Do we have a, you know, I would call it a downtown plan, you might call it an Avenue plan -- is there a plan for the future of our -- of the Avenue? JACOBS: So Chairman, there is, what I've been told -- GARMAN: And that's not accusatory, that is just -- JACOBS: -- oh, no. GARMAN: -- does one exist? JACOBS: Nope. Yup. GARMAN: Because if one does exist, my next question is going to be, can you come brief us on it at some point? But go ahead. JACOBS: So -- so there is a plan. It looks like it was completed in '08 or '09. And we also know what happened during those years. The great recession. So there's conversations, I know some folks are, like, we'll, let's continue -- continue to work on that. But I think again, over the summer, having the conversations of, could it perhaps do Page 12 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 13 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING a refresh? Is that something we can tackle internally? Would we have to invest some dollars to update that? And then to go on, you know, to what you said, what Phil said, of -- of serving more -- having more workshops. Again, I know that that was done. But '08, '09 again, we've just -- the climate has really changed. So but there -- there is. And maybe we talk of, well, do we bring that or -- or do we wait to see if there's an update. GARMAN: That's interesting. Is -- as we, you know, we turn the clock from this summer into this fall, were actually, you know, looking forward and actively beginning to refresh the plan that was just approved last year. Because that's what we do, right? Look to the future. So it'd be, I think, really helpful and -- and we would all like to hear, maybe, what it looked like back then or what your thoughts are going in the future. Whenever that comes about, you'll find a welcome audience here. And the invite is always open for you to come back. JACOBS: No, absolutely, we're happy to do that. And I'll bring John Wesley with me, our Development Services Director. GARMAN: Yeah. JACOBS: He has more knowledge. GARMAN: And what about the -- the Shae Corridor plan? Is that -- now that is actually a plan, right? Is that something that can be briefed to a -- to a commission? JACOBS: I think so. I'm going to defer a little bit to Mr. Trimble. Do you -- GARMAN: The Shae Corridor. TRIMBLE: I'm not sure on that. JACOBS: Okay. we'll have to follow up. And just to make sure I'm understanding what type of a plan that -- is it more, like, road infrastructure or again -- GARMAN: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: -- okay, economic development. GARMAN: It was, you know, there was a plan that -- that was realized what's there now. And then, I think, I believe Grady had told us that there's another -- a plan as far as where we go from where we are now. JACOBS: Okay. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). Page 13 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 10 of 24 MAY 20, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING JACOBS: I know, Pm not -- yeah, I'm not quite sure. GARMAN: Okay. JACOBS: Mr. Chair, we'll get back to you. GARMAN: I think there is. I think it involves housing and businesses and -- and other things. Repurposing some of the, you know, the empty business -- businesses that are there, so. JACOBS: Okay. Was that the Swaback? Swaback Plan? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: That's -- yeah, that's the downtown specific area plan. So with the Shae, I'll -- I'll look into that. GARMAN: Okay. JACOBS: Unless, too, we're thinking about the different conversations that has been had with the Four Peaks Plaza, which I call the Target Center, or Tarje (ph.). UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: That might be it. GARMAN: That might be it? Just a different name? JACOBS: Yeah. GARMAN: Yeah. JACOBS: But we'll follow up. We'll look into that. GARMAN: And then, as -- as we go forward, just more of a statement, too, is, you know, we have the four strategic priorities in our plan now, but we're looking to refresh those over the coming year. So we'll see. I -- I imagine economics will -- will still be very strongly represented in that plan, for sure. But it had, you know, that encompasses sometimes in demographics and -- and like you were saying, how . how to get kind of workers into Fountain Hills and -- and but there's a democratic process. When people vote, you know, they'd always kind of make sure we're going in the right direction. Let's put it that way. Changes our course. Alters our course. Right? So I just wanted you to know that as we go forward, we will probably reconnect with you because economic development is always important. It always has been in the plan. So we need to continue to stay close with you. And please, if you, if something comes up, please come and talk to us because were working on the next plan. And we want to help you. Page 14 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 15 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING JACOBS: Yeah. No, absolutely. And we want to make sure there's alignment. GARMAN: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). GARMAN: Yeah, Phil. SVEUM: I expected you to be at every meeting. So -- I'm kidding. [LAUGHTER] YAZZETTA: My question is, part comments, part question, but I've always felt the school system is a vital part of economic development and vitality of a community. How are the school -- how is the school district going to be kind of intertwined with this commission? That we can work together. I mean, it seems that there's -- there's certainly a strong effort to improve schools, grow the schools. How can we work together with them to see that that can happen? Because every -- each helps each other, right? I mean, the better the schools, the better the economic vitality. The better the schools, the better -- and it -- and it continues to climb. So how are they involved? What piece of the pie are they involved with this -- with what we're doing? JACOBS: Chairman, do you want to start with that as -- the -- what you guys are doing? And I can answer -- GARMAN: So that -- the background that the -- the school, kind of like the sanitation district is separate from the town government here. Right? So -- so they do work together. And we did meet with school board when we were devising the last plan to talk about. And I agree with -- with everything you said. And we do need ideas to try to work together. I do know the superintendent there is -- is working with the town as far as just some things that he's brought about. He -- he's looking instituting internships with the students. So in order to graduate, you have to have so many hours interning in a business around town. Right? We also have the -- the vocational school that kids go to. So there's a lot of opportunity there is what I'm -- what I'm trying to say. So I guess more -- more to follow on that as far as we're concerned. We -- we are briefed by members of the -- of the school board. And we brief them as well. So we do have a relationship. We -- we've usually talked to them offline and not, like, they would -- they Page 15 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 16 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING normally would not come and brief us. We usually meet with them in the interim and have more of a -- a -- what do I want to call it, nonofficial meetings with the school board. That's how it's been over the last decade. JACOBS: And then also -- GARMAN: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: -- within by here of being here, first, you know, there was transition with the superintendent. The, of course, the election and -- and change of the Board. And in trying to figure out, okay, what arc we going to do with the current, you know, floor plans if you will, that we have. Are we going to consolidate? But you're absolutely right. As they're navigating their plans, they need to be working closely with the town and economic development. Because again, that's the quality -of - life piece. And if you're attracting the young -- the young families, it's, you know, we want the kids to be staying in -- in the school system. And 1 think tackling, I have heard, don't quote me, that perhaps 500 students actually leave Fountain Hills and are going to -- to other school districts or --or charter schools. I think also, finding out, like, what's the -- wat's the why behind that? The how -- how can we keep them here? And then having it part of our -- our marketing plan. MAGAZINE: Mr. Chairman. GARMAN: Go ahead, Cynthia. MAGAZINE: With the development of the current plan, there was a small -- we broke up into subcommittees. There was one subcommittee, very, very concemed about trying to bring the schools together with the -- with town. And reality set in. We could just do so much. But we spoke with a member of the PTA. We had tried to incorporate some of that into the plan. But we have to be careful. Because it is a separate entity. Just to let you know. GARMAN: That's all the questions I had. I don't see anybody clse's light on. So -- JACOBS: Thanks so much for the opportunity. GARMAN: Thank you very much for briefing us. And -- and, you know, just to reiterate, you're always welcome coming back to kind of get a sense -- either to brief us on what's going on or to give us a sense of what's going on or to ask us to help in any way. Page 16 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 17 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING JACOBS: Yeah, absolutely. GARMAN: Always there. JACOBS: Happy to. Thank you. GARMAN: All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. So before we move on to agenda item 6, Angela, I wanted to make sure we made a statement about the minutes from last month because we didn't approve the minutes and I'm -- I'm thinking that maybe the -- the transcript not ready? PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Correct. Correct. They've been behind so we have yet to receive those yet. But so those will be on the June 28th meeting for approval. And hopefully along with the meeting minutes from today's commission meeting, too. So they'll be double. And what I'll do, as soon as I get those, I'll just send those out in advance, so you have time to look them over, okay. GARMAN: Right. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Sony about that, my apologies. GARMAN: And I know I don't have a vote. And 1 don't know what that contract looks like. But I would love to go back to the way it was before we had a verbatim transcript. And that is, yes, verbatim transcript into the microphone. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: Okay. Okay, were going to move on to agenda item 6, which is we're going to look at the -- the vice chair and the chair for the coming year. So we're going to start off with the vice chair and 1 was going to hand it over to my partner, Bernie. HOENLE. Sort of picking up on a model that -- that we used previously with the planning commission that I've been on -- working on the last plan. We rotated some of the of the internal leadership positions around. So what I'm offering up to do is change out the vice chair's position to another individual. And to pick up, I don't plan on not continuing or not working or doing anything else, but I think the leadership role is good to move around. And so that's what I'm asking for approval right now. And to resign from that position and then after that's approved, then I would like to make a nomination. GARMAN: All right. I don't think -- first of all, thank you. Thank you, Bernie. I don't think we have to make a -- a -- an action for you to resign. Right? I mean, we reappoint Page 17 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 18 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING these every year. HOENLE: Right. GARMAN: So I think were reappointing for next year. We're not resigning. And so 1 don't think we need to make a motion on your resigning is what I'm saying. So I think, if you wanted to say anything else and then follow up with the -- with a motion, that would be -- that would be fine. HOENLE: Okay. Sounds good to me. GARMAN: Yeah. HOENLE: Now, do we need to make the appointment of a replacement as a formal motion? GARMAN: Yes. HOENLE: Okay. I move that the new vice chair for Strategic Planning Advisory Commission be Geoff Yazzetta. GARMAN: So Bernie, there's a -- a motion on the table. Is there a second? MAGAZINE: Second. GARMAN: So I hear a second. Thank you, Cynthia. Is there a discussion among the councilmembers about the -- the motion to vote on Geoff Yazzetta as the new vice chair going forward? Any discussion? GARMAN: Yes, Cynthia. MAGAZINE: Here, here. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: Your lights on -- nope? Left to right, I see no other discussion topics so we can move on to a vote. Right? So correct -- all in favor of Geoff Yazzetta being the vice chair going through the next -- next year, say -- say aye. ALL: Aye. GARMAN: Those opposed -- 1 think that was unanimous, can say nay. I think it was unanimous though. Correct? And that's five, five to zero, unanimous. All right. Thank you very much, Geoff. Geoff, got any comments? YAZZETTA• I do. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, fellow commissioners. I appreciate your confidence in my ability in a leadership capacity. Been here in Fountain Page 18 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 19 or 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Hills about 18 months and I don't plan on leaving. This is a wonderful town and I'm looking forward to seeing this current plan forward and helping develop the next plan so that we can help Fountain Hills reach its fullest potential. So thank you, everyone. GARMAN: So -- so that's good. We're done with the unanimous decision, and we move on to the next agenda item which is agenda item number 7, which is the appointment of new Commission Chairman. Are there any motions on the table? YAZZETTA: Yes. I move to reappoint Patrick Garman as Chair -- MAGAZINE: Second. YAZZETTA: -- of this Commission. GARMAN: All right. So we have a motion from Geoff for me to remain as Chair. I thought I heard a -- is there a second? MAGAZINE: Yes. GARMAN: Cynthia seconded. Is there a discussion on me, Patrick Garman remaining as the chair over the -- over the next year? MAGAZINE: I would just like to say I think it would be a terrific leadership team. The experience that Geoff had in California; he brings so much to the table. Plus his enthusiasm for being here. It seems that Geoff belongs to everything here. He's joined all of it. So he will be well informed. And I have watched him over the last year that he's been on the commission. He does a good job. He does his homework. Patrick, it goes without saying that, you know I've been applauding your leadership with this Commission, that you have revitalized it. You have kept it going during the summer. Sort of like a mini- or maxi -leadership academy. And I think that that's been very good. Particularly for any of our new members. So with that, I just want to say thank you to both of you for being willing to do this. GARMAN: All right. I see no other discussion, okay. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: Everybody's prepped and ready. So then we'll -- well move on to the vote. So all those in favor of Patrick Garman remaining as the chairman over the next year say aye. ALL: Aye. GARMAN: Those opposed. Looks like it was unanimous. Thank you very much. I Page 19 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 20 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING accept. I do -- I would say that Geoff, you do need to bring the coffee from now on to the -- to these meetings, at least. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). GARMAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. So those two agenda items, Angelia, we all good with both of those? PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes. GARMAN: Set for the next year. Awesome. Okay, so move on to agenda item 8, which is comments from the Chair. By the way, I -- I know I'm going to make some comments and if anybody has some final comments, you -- you're more than welcome. Usually, were racing, you know, to get done before the hours. But were -- we have some time today. Which is not -- not normal. So some of the comments I have. I -- I was able to meet, if you've known over the last year, I've been reaching out to the other commission chairs here in Fountain Hills, to have conversations with them and to see if, you know, they could brief our commission on goings on in their commission and maybe the plans that they have, like we had for the McDowell Mountain Preserve. That was awesome. And that I can then go and brief their commission as well on the strategic plan for the entire town. So this month, a couple of weeks ago, I met with the Community Services Commission Chair, Natalie Verela (ph.). I think that's how you pronounce her last name, Verela. So Natalie was great. She's been here a while. She's very happy to talk. She does want to come visit -- and brief us, community service, because we have an awesome Community Service Director and interim Town Manager, I guess. And -- and also the commission, we have a great parks system and have great planning to go along with that. So she has asked me to come and brief her commissioner first. And then she's going to come brief ours. So I think we can expect her here, maybe August, September time frame, and tell us what's going on in her commission. Which is awesome. And then I wanted to mention, really quickly, we -- we're really -- I'm starting to look into our plan for next year and starting to put pieces together on what were going to do. So when we're sitting here next year at this time, we've accomplished something that we set out. So I -- I'm a big believer that if you plan something it tends to happen. It might not be the outcome that you envisioned, but something happens when -- when there's a Page 20 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 21 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING plan. So I wanted to start putting together ideas and kind of something, electrons on a PowerPoint slide on what were going to do throughout the year so that we accomplish our goals. So that will be laid out, I'll be talking to probably each one of you individually and trying to put that together into a plan that we can look at and discuss next month in the June meeting, to give everybody a chance to kind of think of where we might be going over the next year. As far as strategic planning goes, you know it starts with the big, whatever you call it, overriding pillars, strategic priorities. We have four strategic priorities. The previous plan from 2017 had five strategic priorities. So it -- it' s not in stone. Usually less is better. But I think it's -- we need to start and refresh those priorities over the next year. And the way we refresh those priorities is not just, hey what do 1 think or what do you think? It's actually out and talking to people in Fountain Hills. People vote, people live here, people pay taxes. So that's going to be the plan throughout next year, is to see if we can divide into two or three groups and go out and work to get the pulse, to get the opinion, to get data on what the people that -- that live and work in Fountain Hills believe are overriding strategic priorities might be over the next five to ten years. So get ready, because we'll all have assignments heading into the next year. Okay. And some of those, as you think, and as we move into next -- just the next month, think of ways that we can gauge the -- the ideas that the people in Fountain Hills have. In other words, surveys, in -person workshops. Right? Taking an opinion poll somehow, maybe in person at a festival. Some ways to be able to get out, talk to people so that when we're here next -- next year at this time we can say, hey, we think with a certain confidence that these are going to be our strategic priorities going forward. And this is why we think that. Because we talked to people, and this is what they told us. Okay. Next -- next month also on the agenda we are, hopefully, going to have a presentation from David Pock. He's the Chief Financial Officer for the Town, again, on the implementation of our strategic plan which -- which is really great, and I appreciate the -- the Town folks coming to talk and the directors. It's -- it's wonderful, actually. And also, I think John Wesley might, might as well. Right, Angelia? I think he might be on -- on the calendar. So we can look forward next month to have those presentations Page 21 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 22 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING from the Town. And to talk about -- talk about what, how you think we should work throughout the next year to start refreshing our plan as we go forward. All right. That was a lot from me. Any other comments? Bernie. HOENLE: Just like to add a positive from being back on the Commission. And that's being -- staying engaged. Because when we were on it last time, we put the plan on the shelf and took a big break. And we didn't even have any meetings or anything for a while. So -- so keeping it moving along, bringing in speakers, starting to look at a year down the road now, and getting some of the metrics back -- where are we on the plan? Is it working? Do we need to make any tweaks. Because a plan needs to be revised as it's required. It doesn't need to sit on the shelf for ten years and say it didn't work. So if there's something else that we need to see to -- to do it as it goes along. So staying engaged is great. Topics and the speakers, we've had plenty of conversations about that. And trying to set a direction is probably the key thing that's been missing a lot. It's been documenting what we're doing today. And not really where things are headed. And so taking a look at trends. Some of the things that Amanda brought up. Things have changed in the last 10, 15 years. So we need to be able to approach that. And even as -- as Phil mentioned, there are a lot of different touchpoints in this town. There's the Chamber, there's the schools, the 501(c)(3)'s, volunteers, I mean, there's so much augmentation on -- on people and roles that they play, the PTO, there -- there's lots of different power groups. And they all have an idea of what's going on. And sometimes we just go past one another. So it -- it's really good to keep in touch with them. Another example is what used to be called Vision Fountain Hills. That was a whole other organization that was almost parallel to our planning group here. But it was a private group. So if it's still there or not, it probably doesn't matter, but it -- we need to know about it and to see what sort of efforts are going on. So there are lots of things that we could get into. But again, 1 -- 1 think 1 brought it up at a previous meeting, were a planning group and an advisory group, not an operational group. But we need to be looking five to ten years out. And not be restricted by the current budget. So that's my two cents. And I like being here. GARMAN: Thanks, Bernie. Phil. Page 22 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 23 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING SVEUM: I've heard, 1 guess a lot of potential guests coming before us, but I didn't hear the councilmembers nor the mayor. And I do think it's important. They are the policymakers in this community. It's good to, whether it's, I guess offsite, like coffees and so on, which, I've done. Just to learn a little more about what their vision is. But I think at the end of the day, they're the ones that are going to accept or reject any product that comes out of this Commission. And I would like, I guess, their involvement and input during this process as we're -- were having presentations made by staff, whether it's from the financial standpoint or the -- I don't want to call it the political standpoint, because I don't -- these are community server -- servants as far as I'm concemed, in that role of alders and mayor. But I think it is important that they come and talk with us a little bit about what their vision -- by the way, they are a great conduit to what people are thinking in this community. They are the ones getting the phone calls, the emails, the -- the stops on the street to -- whether to say thanks or to complain. Right? Or read the paper. Letters to the Editor. Whatever it might be. But I -- I think that their involvement is -- is good during this -- during this process. Again, that's just my opinion. GARMAN: Thanks. Cynthia, no. MAGAZINE. (Indiscernible). GARMAN: Well, I -- I know that, you know, the political winds will shift at least two more times, right? We're going to get a new mayor. We're going to have at least two more elections before the next plan comes out. So and we do work with the council members. I don't think you're going to see them come in and brief us or -- but I do think that we will be able to interact with them and hear what they have to say. That -- I will tell you that just being here for a little while, there's a thing called Open Meeting Laws in Arizona, which there probably is, you know, throughout the United States. Very -- very touchy. Very -- I'm now cognizant that this is transcribing but open meeting laws are important. And we always need to make sure we have a quorum, and that business is done out in the open in an official, right, meeting. So things we talk about, if we want to have a -- an opinion from the -- from the Council, we do that in either their open session, I go and brief them, or we go and brief them during their open session. Or Page 23 of 24 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Page 24 of 24 MAY 24, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING we do go and brief them once a year. They have a retreat in February and -- and we go there and talk to them for that day as well. So those are kind of opportunities. But we always kind of got to do it in an official meeting where quorums arc present. Right? That's -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Absolutely. GARMAN: -- that's what I've been accustomed to. Okay. Anything else? Okay. Thank you all very much. Thank you all. Thank you for sitting in, by the way. Thank you very much for your presentation today. I'm going to go ahead and adjourn this -- the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission for Fountain Hills today. So thank you all very much. And we'll see you next month on June 28th, the Wednesday before the Fourth of July weekend. All right? Thank you. [MEETING ADJOURNED AT 4:52 P.M.] Page 24 of 24