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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPAC.2023.0823.MinutesTOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION August 23, 2023 A Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission was convened at 16705 E. Avenue of the Fountains in open and public session at 4:01 p.m. Members Present: Chairman Patrick Garman: Vice Chairman Geoff Yazzetta; Commissioner Jill Keefe; Commissioner Bernie Hoenle; Commissioner Cynthia Magazine; Commissioner Phil Sveum Attended Telephonically: Commissioner Kevin Beck Staff Present: Deputy Town Manager David Trimble; Economic Development Director Amanda Jacobs; Development Services Director John Wesley; Community Relations Director/PI0 Bo Larsen; Management Assistant/Economic Development Specialist John Perez; Executive Assistant Angela Padgett - Espiritu Audience: Three members of the public present TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION August 23, 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 Geoff Yazzetta; Commissioner Kevin Beck by Telephone at 4:05 p.m.; Commissioner Jill Keefe; Commissioner Bernie Hoenle, Commissioner Cynthia Magazine; Commissioner Phil Sveum Staff Present: Deputy Town Manager David Trimble; Economic Development Director Amanda Jacobs; Development Services Director John Wesley; Community Relations Director/PIO Bo Larsen; Management Analyst/Economic Development Specialist John Perez; Executive Assistant Angela Padgett -Espiritu 3. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. g3e-031.01(H). public comment is permitted (not required) on matters not listed on the agenda. Any such comment (i) must be within the jurisdiction of the Council. and (ii) is subject to reasonable time. place, and manner restnctions. The Council will not discuss or take legal action on matters raised during Call to the Public unless the matters are properly noticed for discussion and legal action. At the conclusion of the Call to the Public, individual counclmombers may (l)respond to criticism. (ii) ask staff fo review a matter, or gig ask that he matter be placed on a future Council agenda. No one from the public spoke 4. REPORTS BY COMMISSIONERS AND TOWN MANAGER Chairman Patrick Garman Vice Chairman Geoff Yazzetta Commissioner Phil Sveum Commissioner Kevin Beck Commissioner Jill Keefe Commissioner Bernie Hoenle Commissioner Cynthia Magazine 5. CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Approval of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of June 28, 2023. MOVED BY Commissioner Jill Keefe to approve the minutes of June 28, 2023, Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting, SECONDED BY Commissioner Phil Sveum. Vote: 7 — 0 passed — Unanimously 6. PRESENTATION: Proposed Community Economic Development Strategy by Amanda Jacobs, Economic Development Director 7. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Workgroups and Assignments MOVED BY Vice Chair Geoff Yazzetta to approve two workgroups for the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting, SECONDED BY Commissioner Cynthia Magazine. Vote: 7 — 0 passed — Unanimously 8. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Future Agenda Topics 9. COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIRMAN 10. NEXT MEETING DATE: Wednesday September 27, 2023 11. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Patrick Garman adjourned the regular meeting at 5:55 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Post -Production File Town of Fountain Hills Minutes of Regular Meeting of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission August 23, 2023 Transcription Provided By: eScribers, LLC Transcription is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings. Page 1 of 56 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION GARMAN: All right. I'm going to call to order the Strategic Planning Advisory meeting. The Strategic Planning Advisory Commission meeting for the town of Fountain Hills on August 23rd, 2023. So as we start down the agenda for this Wednesday afternoon, were going to start with a Call of Order. Angela, could you help me with that? PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Sure, yes. Thank you and welcome back everyone. Chair Garman. GARMAN: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Vice Chair Yazzetta. YAZZETTA: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Commissioner Beck. [NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE] PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Commissioner Hoenle. HOENLE: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Commissioner Keefe. KEEFE: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Commissioner Magazine. MAGAZINE: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: And Commissioner Sveum. SVEUM: Here. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: We have a quorum. But I believe Kevin -- I believe Commissioner Beck will be joining us shortly though via phone. GARMAN: Okay. Is he logged on right now? Are you listening Kevin? [NO AUDIBLE RESPONSE] GARMAN: Not yet. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yeah. I gave him the information. We'II see if he's able to get on again. I'm communicating with him via email right now. GARMAN: Okay. Maybe Hilary is crossing over the Midwest right now. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: So we're going to go down, then, to agenda item 3, which is Call to the Page 2 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Public. Angela, do we have any public who wanted to speak? PADGETT-ESPIRITU: No, we do not. GARMAN: Nothing submitted. Nothing heard as 1 look over the robust audience that we have today. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: Okay. So then, we're going to start agenda item 4, which is Report by Commissioners. So I think I'm going to start all the way to the left with you, Phil. Do you have anything you wanted to relay to the group? SVEUM: Nothing to report. GARMAN: Nothing? All right, thank you. Cynthia. MAGAZINE: I just wanted to call attention to the most recent issue of the "Fountain Hills Times." Brenda Kaliviankis, this is "Letter to the Editor," talking about civility in the town. And I thought it was a pearl and a gem of a letter. And I just hope everyone has a chance to read it. Thanks. GARMAN: All right. Thanks, Cynthia. Geoff. YAZZETTA: Nothing to report, but welcome back everyone. Lets get started. GARMAN: I know I have comments from the chair at the end, but I want to say is multiple times during this meeting so that we all right it down, and that's -- and Angela, if you could help me with this to make sure, but it's important we have our annual commissioner training. I call it training, legal training. It was the 6th, but I think it was moved recently, right? And 1 want to make sure everybody saw that invite until October 3rd -- PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes. GARMAN: -- I think it is. PADGETT-ESPIRITU: Yes. It was moved due to the fact that Council needs to have a special session during that time. So it's been moved temporarily, so. GARMAN: All right. So all the different legal aspects of our volunteer jobs here as commissioners. Open meeting laws, things like that. It's a good -- good attendance happens once a year. So hopefully everybody saw the update and was able to put it on Page 3 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION their calendar. All right, Bernie. HOENLE: One topic that came up in a couple different venues was working together on 501(c)(3)s and not profits -- nonprofits. So it's going to be one of the topics covered later in today's meeting, as far as getting together and working on committees and stuff, but it's been gathering quite a bit of momentum and mostly it's to help everybody else out with resources so we don't have to keep overlapping and trying competing with one another on different projects that we need to do. GARMAN: All right. Thanks, Bernie, and thank you for being on the committee to help solve the roads and streets issues. All right. I saw that report, so thank you for that. Jill. KEEFE: Thank you, yes. It's good to be back everyone. I wanted to share with the rest of the commission, I did surface a concern to Town Council this week about the lack of sidewalks and lighting in Park View. I'd surfaced it months ago. And I know that the topic is being discussed and reviewed as a part of the Plan. But I came very close to getting clipped at the corner of that street. And it increased my desire to put it on people's radar again. So I was very grateful to hear back from several council people, as well as Amanda Jacobs who is in the audience today. Thank you, Amdanda, I was grateful for the acknowledgement, but I do think we have an issue in the downtown area that's very front of mind for our walk score and our safety of our downtown residents and shoppers. Separate from that, I'll also say we are two weeks away from -- is it two or is it three, Geoff? Three week away -- YAZZETTA: Three. KEEFE: -- from Fountain Hills Leadership Academy being kicked off again for class seven. We have an incredible lineup planned of agendas, as well as we've laced in a leadership curriculum. So just continuing to improve and develop that program. We've got a nice set of cohort students that have been recruited and I think it's going to add a lot to the Page 4 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION community. Thank you. GARMAN: All right. Thanks Jill, and -- KEEFE: Um -hum. GARMAN: -- yeah. I just wanted to comment that, I know -- I wanted to thank you because you brought this up earlier, you know, the gears work kind of slowly, but we end up getting somewhere at the -- and you're talking about lighting in the downtown and safety and things like that. So it's definitely on the agenda to talk about today. So I appreciate that. So I appreciate all the commissioners bringing up topics like that. And we work on them. And we get to them. Some faster than others, but we do get to the point where we can cover them through. So thanks. Okay. So I'm going to move on now to -- BECK: Hey, Patrick. GARMAN: -- oh, Kevin. BECK: Patrick. GARMAN: Yes. Go ahead, Kevin, please. It's up to you -- over to you. BECK: No, you know what? Yeah, I tried to get on. I've been trying since about 3:50, just linking in and so forth. I didn't get connections, so I left a message and stuff. But I'm on the phone. I can only do it through the phone. I don't know why. I did join the link, but it says I'm joined but it's not there. So something happened, probably from my end. So I apologize. Yeah, I'm here and I've been listening in to the commissioner's reports. So I didn't get the roll call, but I am here, so hopefully we can add that. GARMAN: So Kevin, we're on Reports by Commissioners and so it's your turn, but I didn't know if you had anything to put out, Dark Skies or anything like that, that you wanted to mention to the full commission, over. BECK: 1 don't want to repeat anything that Geoff might have said. I didn't hear his, sorry. But yeah, really nothing more to report, probably than what Geoff said. 1 know that the one thing I'm interested to hear Amanda talk a little bit. Hi, Amanda. I'm anxious to hear her presentation. In reading through it, I know some of the Page 5 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN BILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION implementations that -- including possibly looking an ASU or some university. And it is synergistic, maybe, what we're trying to do as well. We've been right after with the issue, trying to get either support or something from the Earth & Sky group for school. We do not have a telescope for their students. They've got 2,000 some students, but unlike Arizona State or up north in -- or even GSU, they do not have an observatory. And so they're very interested in working with us, with the Dark Sky Commission with the Discovery Center. And we're hoping that goes forward. So that's one area that might be synergistic with the Plan and probably you know that. Maybe Jill has told you that. Maybe Geoff has told you that. But that part, I'll be very interested to hear about. But other than that, that's all I've got. And I hope you guys are staying cool. It's -- I don't think so, sorry. But anyway -- GARMAN: All right. BECK: -- that's it. GARMAN: Thanks. Thanks, Kevin. Before we move on, Cynthia, another comment -- MAGAZINE: Yes. I do want -- GARMAN: -- round two. MAGAZINE: -- I do. As long as Dark Skies has been mentioned, there's a very important distinction to be made between two organizations in town that are here to educate and help the public understand why we're certified as a Dark Skies community. One is the first that was originated, which is the Fountain Hills Dark Skies Association. The second, when the idea of a Discovery Center popped up, a new board was formed to do that. That's the Discovery Center organization. They both have boards of directors. And FHDSA, Dark Skies Association, their mission is education. You're going to be seeing more of us, I'm on that board, more of us during the coming year. And I promised Vickie Derkson, who's the president of that board, that Geoff and I and Kevin would handle a discussion of the differences. But the community is very confused about Dark Skies. And so I wanted to bring that up, make the distinction. And this won't be the last time you hear about it. Thank you. Page 6 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION GARMAN: Okay. I think we're good with that agenda item, then. Thanks. Thanks to everybody for their comments. We're going to move on now, to the next, which is 5 on our agenda, which is a Consideration and Possible Action, approval of the minutes for the regular meeti the June 28th meeting, since we're now back from our summer recess. So I'm going to open it up for any comments, possible edits, or motions at this time. Jill. KEEFE: I'd motion to accept. SVEUM: Second. GARMAN: So we have a second. So this is the point where we have a discussion. Cynthia, did you have anything -- MAGAZINE: -- I just wanted to add - GARMAN: -- that you wanted to discuss? MAGAZINE: -- that I'm sorry I missed the last meeting. And reading the minutes of that meeting made a big difference for me. Thank you, Angela. GARMAN: Nope? All right. So seeing no discussion, we had two motions and we had discussion. So I think we can go on to a vote to accept the minutes from June. So all those in favor of accepting the minutes as written, say aye. ALL: Aye. GARMAN: Any opposed, say nay. I think it was unanimous, Angela. And it's unanimous, thank you for the minutes. And as I say every month, hoping at some point that verbatim transcript goes away. I just want to make sure that's in the verbatim transcript, every month. Sorry. So that's the minutes. So now, we're going to go ahead with our main presentation for the day. So that's number 6 on our agenda and it's a proposed Community Economic Development Strategy. Amanda Jacobs, thank you, Amanda, for being here as our town's Economic Development Director. She has an outstanding presentation that we got to see some cliff notes in the newspaper that's out right now. It was out last night. rig for Page 7 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION So she gave us a preview as well that we all looked at before we came to the meeting today. So we're looking forward to your presentation today. The floor is yours. JACOBS: All right. Good afternoon, everyone, Mr. Chair, Commissioners. And so I'm here today to talk about the proposed Community Economic Development Strategy. So on day one, when I started, I met with former town manager, Grady Miller. One of my tasks was to work on updating our economic development strategy. And so the last one that was approved is over ten years old. But I'll let you know, I was advised to look at one that had been drafted in 2019. Unfortunately, it was drafted and just never got approved. And listening to, again, Manager Miller at the time, and the community, some of the reason behind that was because it was missing an important ingredient. And it was the community feedback. And so as we go through the process, I'll let you know the various ways that we've conducted outreach. But I'm going to start with some datapoints, and then present to you some of the proposed focus areas and strategies. And so what you'll see is very high-level strategies. And a lot of that is designed on purpose, because we don't want to, from the podium or the dais, to start implementing. And so what we're asking today first back is, I want your honest feedback. Most of you know, I'm an honest kind of gal, so I appreciate that constructive feedback. Am I missing anything? Does something need to be taken away? Is there something completely overlooked in the focus areas? And before I get started, I want to also introduce John Perez, who is our Economic Development Specialist Management Analyst. I think you guys all know John Wesely, our Development Services Director. And then Bo Larsen, on this side -- so our Community Relations Director. You often hear that economic development is a team sport. And this is a team sport. And then, also, want to give a shout out, who I see at least once a week, is Betsy. And then, of course, Tammy with the Chamber. And so again, in the Strategic Plan, as I met with you, it was really important, again, when I started in my position, that we really strengthen our relationship with the Chamber. And I feel like we've done that. I'll keep looking this way, Betsey and Tammy Page 8 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION can do a nod, yes or no? All right. So we'll get started with the data and trends. I won't ready everything, but looking at the demographics, want to -- because well kind of talk about this or I'll bring it to your attention, but our population is nearly 24,000. Our median age is 58. And our median household income is 87,000. And when you look, too, to see what the average of -- KEEFE: Question. JACOBS: -- when were trying to for -- Jill, do you need something? KEEFE: Yeah. Before you get too far along, I wanted to seek a clarification. Do you want to take checkpoints for questions along the way, or do you want to hold our questions until the end? JACOBS: I leave it up to the chair and the commission. GARMAN: Yeah. That's kind of up to me. I think we should let you get rolling first, and then save our questions, I mean, you do have some natural breaking points -- JACOBS: Breaking points, yes. GARMAN: -- here, but I though you get into it, and then stop and take a breath, and then we can see if there's any questions, then you can continue. JACOBS: Yeah. I think that's great. So after the focus areas, I'll pause and see if there's any questions. And then, so too, if you're looking at homes for sale, they are selling between 600 and $800,000 in Fountain Hills. So I tell you all to just sit with that. Our major employers, again, I won't read all of them to you, but a highlight here is to show you that they're all pretty much, besides one, service -based industry. And then, so when you think about service -based industry, and the median, you know, wage annually that they are receiving, it is less than $40,000. And so I just told you about some stuff happening with the household income, wages coming in, there's awfully -- there's something wrong here. You don't have to be a mathematician to know that. So targeted industries, when I started our industries were financial services, health care professional services. I have made some modifications as we were updating our Page 9 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION community profile. But we've built upon that based off of community feedback. And so what is proposed, one is assembly, and on a smaller scale. When folks hear assembly, some people get scared about that, oh, we're bringing in a lot more heavy industrial. There's going to be big trucks. Commissioner Magazine gets it. She's, like, no. And so we have behind the Target Shopping Center, some small, clean industry where folks are assembling stuff. They're assembling some things for the military. We have our watch company that's out of the bus hub, the former Four Peaks. And so they're assembling watches. And so think of that. Biosciences, again, keeping financial services, health care, hospitality, retail, and startups. So some of the businesses and industries that we have, the broker alliance, again, there's folks behind the Target Shopping Center. Those are folks that, like, started it -- a business, and have been successful and have other locations in different countries. And so how do we capitalize on that in Fountan Hills? Our apartment occupancy rate, again, I won't go line -by-line, but as you can see, all of them except for Four Peaks, they're still condos, is in the 90 percentile. The Four Peaks will always be a little bit lower because not all of them are traditional multi -family for rent. Some of those are for sale. And so just want to demonstrate here, that we have a supply/demand issue. And you've heard me in previous presentations when I was locating here to Fountain Hills, I am a renter, but when I was looking for a place, there was slim pickings. And so luckily, the stars aligned and I was able to locate and move and am a Fountain Hills resident. Vacancy rates for existing buildings, I know this is a hot topic, usually. So we look at office, industrial, and retail. When we look at the first vacancy rate column that we are getting sourced through CoStar. That is paid for through our membership with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. And so when we saw that, we knew something was off. And so if you look at the second column, that is pretty much the actual. What we have found, and there's a little bit unique to Fountain Hills, is there are some buildings that are just passively being marketed. So it's, you know, you get to drive by, hopefully, and see a sign and you know it's available. Page 10 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION So folks are choosing not to list it on CoStar. They're choosing to just hope that someone locally will see that. And so truly, with economic development, you're wanting to create new wealth. And so you're wanting new people. And so it's unfortunate, but were doing it, but we're having staff, and so John Hoyt (phonetic), introduced you to John Perez. It's having to drive out and contact people in order to get some of these actuals. And so you'll see office is nearly 38 percent. The good news from previous quarter -- the previous quarter, we were at almost 50 percent. I don't want you to think it's a Fountain Hills issue only. It is a national issue due to the impacts of COVID-19. So during COVID, everyone was told it is not safe, please go home. A lot of people, when it became a year, then there was the different variance, it was, like, ah, don't come back, you know, go back home again. They're, like, I like this. Like, I like being with my pet. I like being able to do my laundry. I don't have to deal with people. People can be stressful. That now, the employees -- I know it -- now, employees are sort of dictating to the employers. And so were seeing that a little bit here. Some of the folks that are in office have chatted with me about a hybrid approach. And then a new trend that is forming, and I started to hear about last year, some people who were living in home, you know, for being flexible at home for two years, they've decided to actually get rid of their transportation. So it's okay, employer want me to come back? Let's try to figure out what days those are, and then is it Uber or whatever form of transportation going to get me to Fountain Hills. So a lot of stuff to tackle and unpack. So again, just datapoints. Industrial, you'll see just 9.9 percent. And retail, basically rounded up, 20 percent. Some -- GARMAN: So-- JACOBS: Go ahead. GARMAN: So some good -- JACOBS: Sure. Page 11 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION GARMAN: -- I just want to make sure we didn't get too far down -- JACOBS: Yes. GARMAN: -- because we covered a lot of territory already. I just want to give everybody a quick look to see if they have any questions that have come up so far. I'm sorry, I'm going to start on the right because Jill brought hers up first. 1 apologize, Phil, for looking your way and --Jill, go ahead. KEEFE: Is the data date on all the stats you took us through, is that this year, 2023? JACOBS: Yes. And those are actually just the recent quarter. So from April to June. KEEFE: Okay. Oh, okay, so it's current quarter? JACOBS: Yup. KEEFE: All right. And the percentages of the vacancy rates in particular for the commercial and residential, do we have the actual counts that go with them? Like, you know, 10 percent industrial capacity, is that five buildings or 50, you know, is that something that maybe could be followed up with? JACOBS: Yes. So Mr. Chair, Commissioner, yes. So we can follow up with that level of data. KEEFE: Thanks. JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: Phil was next up, yeah. SVEUM: No, that's okay. GARMAN: No, go for it. SVEUM: Amanda, any idea what the total value of the tax base is in Fountain Hills? And where it was in, like, over the last few years, where it is now? JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, Commissioner, not off the top of my head. So I'll have to get back to you on that. SVEUM: I think that would be important from a datapoint, standpoint, and as far as the growth. You mentioned the 600, $800,000 home selling, obviously, the span is much larger than that. It may be would helpful to have a median price of homes that have been selling in Fountain Hills over the last, again, last couple years. See where that's Page 12 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION actually tracked. JACOBS: I appreciate that. Yeah, because looking again at recent, I think they were saying $630,000 of most recently. SVEUM: I'm sorry. JACOBS: 630,000 of most recently that -- SVEUM: As far as average -- JACOBS: Yeah. SVEUM: -- average sale price. JACOBS: Yes. SVEUM: Yeah. JACOBS: And so we can look and compare to see how things again, with inflation, but that -- SVEUM: Well, it seems, especially when we got such high-priced homes as well, it kind of drives the average up. So the median price, I think, is probably more important in this case. The targeted industries, is there, and maybe this is too far down the road, but is there a financial assistance packages that are available for targeted industries? Like Bioscience, where they may be able to get tax incentives or some sort of grant money available. Do we have access to those types of tools? JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, Commissioner, as a town, we don't have a formal incentive policy. I'll actually share with you, from the previous municipality where I worked -- actually I think that's a good thing because when you have a certain policy, then you're fit into a box. And so what can make, you know, Fountain Hills competitive is that we're coming to the table to be creative. That we're not saying, this is what you need to meet. It's how best you can we support you. And then also, a certain industries, specifically biosciences and the assembly, there are things that we can do with the Arizona Commerce Authority -- SVEUM: Um -hum. JACOBS: -- bringing them to the table. Page 13 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION SVEUM: Um -hum. JACOBS: And then, of course, too, with hospitality, we have the Arizona Office of Tourism. And then, just depending on what type of grants and criteria, there are possibilities. SVEUM: Have some of those tools been used recently? JACOBS: So most recently our Arizona Office of Tourism grants, but not specifically for targeted industries that are listed. You know, assisting some of our nonprofits. The Dark Sky, for instance. SVEUM: Okay. Thank you. JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: This is like a safe space for the first round, right? This discussion. All right, Geoff. YAZZETTA: Director Jacobs, hello. First of all, I just want to say thank you for all the hard work. I know you've been at this for about 18 months now, so it's nice to see, you know, something on paper, you know, kind of the product of all this effort. For the vacancies, office, industrial, commercial, how does that compare to other areas in Maricopa County? All right, is this average? Is it higher? Is it -- how does it compare? JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, Vice Chair, some of it I'll say is comparable. The office, like the previous quarter, again, looking at Phoenix, the Maricopa area, some of that was higher. Industrial, we're much lower. Folks like Chandler, Peoria, they have more inventory -- YAllETTA: Um -hum. JACOBS: -- and so again, we'll get into that later, about some zoning districts, flexible zoning, so again, to make us more competitive. Because right now, at times, were having to say no to people who are interested because we just don't meet the zoning requirements. YAZZETTA: Sure, sure. Got you, thank you. And one other question. 24,000 population, how much of that fluctuates up during the winter, like at -- is 24,000 the high watermark for our population? Or how -- where we at year round, I guess is what I'm looking for? Page 14 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION JACOBS: So it is a higher mark, and I'm glad you brought you that. I was going to touch on it on the tourism side. But we just recently, thanks to a grant with the Arizona Office of Tourism, Visit Arizona Initiative grant -- so say that three times. Thanks to former Governor Ducey, using some ARPA funding, we actually hired a firm to do a tourism and event impact study. YAZZETTA: Hum. JACOBS: So when I came in, I felt that tourism was a little bit of a stretch for Fountain Hills, and meaning the traditional tourism. Tourism is generating heads in beds. And so that was just me, my 28 years' experience. Sometimes it's nice for someone to come in and say, you're right or your wrong. And so when they done the study, we also asked them to look at is, one of the messages we heard is, 50 percent of the population leaves. Which is also scary when we're listening to our current businesses. But when we're trying to attract folks. And there are folks that I have encountered that said, hey, I live just past the boundary off of Shae. I'm in Scottsdale, but I was looking at Fountain Hills. And when I heard 50 percent, that just doesn't work for me. So just hearing that -- YAllETTA: Sure. JACOBS: -- so what our consultant did is, they looked at census data. They looked at our number of households. And then looking at the seasonal, if people are using that short-term rentals. And so they're actually thinking our winter visitors, again, Tots of things are estimate in economic development, but it's 11.8 percent. And so again, later, as we start talking, some of that messaging is going to be important. And I believe, you know, our businesses. Again, this is not unique to Fountain Hills. Summers are hard for businesses. Again, there are winter visitors. People decide to travel and get away. And then, just going back, even though I'm -- now I'm kind of skipping to tourism. But when they were looking at the events area, about 80 percent of folks that are coming specifically here, and for events, the 80 percent is representing local and regional. And then, what is happening with some of our events, besides our, you know, Fountain Hills Page 15 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION fall and the spring Arts Festival is it's one day for four to six hours and we're not giving them a reason to stay. And so they -- YAZZETTA: Um -hum. JACOBS: -- leaving. And so there's things that we're going to need to do to make sure that they are staying. And want to generate those overnight stays, which equates to bed and sales tax. Does that answer your question? YAZZETTA: Yes, it does. Thank you. And as it relates to the, you know, everybody leaving Fountain Hills, I think it's kind of similar to the feeling that Fountain Hills is so far away from the rest of the cities, Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix, and it's not. It's just a matter of branding or rebranding ourselves as, hey, we're not that far away and everyone doesn't leave. So we'll keep at it. JACOBS: Yes. YAZZETTA: Thank you. JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: Thanks. Jill? KEEFE: You're putting together-- thank you so much for being here. You're putting together a really interesting picture. I wanted to add one more data request, or maybe you know it off the top of your head. The average rental price, you know, do you happen to know that? Or do you want to follow up on that, maybe? JACOBS: I can follow up more confirmly-- KEEFE: Okay. JACOBS: -- but I'll say it's about 2,500 to 3,000. KEEFE: Okay, yeah. So we've got expensive houses and pretty maxed out rental occupancy, high rates, and building owners that aren't really excited about leasing their buildings, commercially, and a lot of the targeted industries are some lower -wage things. How that gets reconciled is going to have to address housing and I'm sure you've already thought of that, but -- JACOBS: Yes. Page 16 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION KEEFE: -- yeah. Okay, thank you. JACOBS: I'm glad the picture is being painted. BECK: Mr. Chair. GARMAN: Yeah, Kevin, go ahead. BECK: Mr. Chair, since -- just one quick question. So Amanda, again, I also thank you for doing all this. And I know it's, you know, just been a lot of work the last couple of months. A while back ago we were talking a lot about water and kind of the national media perception, if you will. The lack of water. And we all kind of came to an understanding that Fountain Hills has a great water table. And yes, we want to be conservative, but that's not an issue, really, for us. EPCORP made that clear. However, it's interesting, when I'm out in the Midwest here, when I mention Arizona, everyone says it's going to dry up. Everyone that I talk to. There' such a misrepresentation. Well, won't that be a hard place to have a business and -- JACOBS: No. BECK: -- but I'm curious, as you're going through with the businesses, does that ever come? Or are they kind of beyond that? JACOBS: Mr. Chair, Commissioner, no. That has -- it does not get brought up. When there -- BECK: Good. JACOBS: -- were, I think it was a couple of months ago, there was some things in the press. Again, we were ready. Mayor Dickey was ready. The CEO and president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council was able to put some press out there to just try to nip in the bud. But no, Kevin, it has not been brought up. BECK: Perfect. Thank you. GARMAN: All right. Thanks, Kevin. Phil, round two. SVEUM: It seems that this water question is a much bigger issue than just Fountain Hills. I mean as far as public perception. This is a valley issue. And I was at a Phoenix Girl's Conference last week. And despite the fact that people think that there's no water, the Economic Development Coordinator, your counterpart at the City of Phoenix, Page 17 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Christine Mackey -- JACOBS: Um -hum. SVEUM: -- suggested there's a hundred years' worth of water stored for the City of Phoenix alone. So it is a matter of public relation effort to make sure the folks in Midwest or Portland or wherever people are coming from to live here, understand that it is not the issue. Yes, there are challenges to face and to plan for the future, but they made it very clear about the storage of water and where it's coming from. Where it can be expected to come from in the future. GARMAN: All right. Can you please continue? JACOBS: I can. All right, I think we stopped on tourism. So our hotel occupancy has remained consistently this past year below 70 percent. Our social media, this is from the last quarter. There's been a 44 percent increase. So that is fabulous. Our Fountain Live fee, so that's the earth cam that is placed on the Experience Fountain Hills website, had 1.3 million views during the physical year. So that is amazing. People are looking and watching us. And then we did a recent, I would say earlier this calendar year, a big overhaul. We hadn't redesigned our Experience Fountain Hills website in almost eight years. So we redesigned it. We started working with local business owners to feature a blog page. We're doing videos going out to businesses and be able to promote them. And so that's retention. It can fall under tourism. It can fall under many things. And our top five cities, this has remained pretty consistent, is Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, L.A., and Chandler. And then, so community engagement. And so again, we had tried to start a community leaders' workshop back last October. And it was really important for me to get the right people at the table. So our residents, some of our businesses who have been here 20 years, boards and commission members. Unfortunately, October didn't work. And then, too, right? We just got through an election. And so we were able to wait until January 12th. And I actually looked at that as an opportunity because I got to continue to know more of the community, conducting our business retention site visits with the Page 18 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Chamber. And just one-on-one, it's allowed me to get to know Fountain Hills a little bit more, as well as the community. We had a public workshop April 12th. And then, I decided to kind of step back as well, just again, watching some of the projects that were going before Council before I wrote, which you saw today, I decided to have even shorter bullet points. And I met with six out of the seven councilmembers over the summer. Because I wanted to make sure that by the time it got to them, there was no shock. Like, what does she think she's doing? Or can we do this in Fountain Hills? That we were somewhat on the same page. And so we are here today. Hopefully, we'll get some more feedback. John's helping take notes, if you're not seeing me, we're capturing everything. And so we'll get started into the focus areas and implementation strategies. So focus areas -- and this is pretty traditional for any economic development agency. And again, aligned with themes that we heard during those public sessions. But Business Attraction, Business Retention Expansion, Marketing, Strategic Partnerships, and Tourism. GARMAN: So Amanda. JACOBS: Yes. GARMAN: Sorry to interrupt. Are those prioritized? Is that, like, a number one, number two, number three? Or is that just a list. JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, it's not prioritized, like, per se. I think I have it in alphabetical order. GARMAN: Okay. JACOBS: But I would say the big priority, and where it will come to Council, is going to be in the area of business attraction. Because again, as I'm starting to paint a picture, some folks think, oh, we will be able to do one thing, and then this works, no. We're going to have to do a whole bunch of stuff all at once to, again, be competitive with some of our counterparts. GARMAN: So and my comment would be, after working on our last plan that was approved in March, '22, and going through the economic piece as well, we looked at Page 19 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION keeping what we have first. The people can gain stand to gain. People already worked and established something here in Fountain Hills. And to be able to support them. That was what we prioritized as number one. And then, number two was maybe attracting new businesses. But just throwing that out here as we created the last strategic plan for the Town. JACOBS: No, and I appreciate that. And I'll say this, first year that I've been here, business retention was number one, in formalizing our program in partnership with the Chamber. But now, starting to see that shift that now we need to start focusing on attraction. 5o agreed. All right. So we'll get in -- I'll read some of this, you know, give some highlights and background. And so one thing, and again, this is not in any particular order. So Mr. Chair, thanks for the question. But one, we want to create a new downtown strategy to be consistent with our economic trends. So the last time I was here, there was a couple of questions about the downtown area specific plan. And so that was adopted in '09. I don't typically like to make assumptions, but I feel like it's safe to assume that when some of those datapoints in building the plan, that was before and then during the Great Recession. And so obviously, things changed. You heard about the Amazon Effect. Now, too, with COVID-19. And then, taking a step back, it's how has this been a priority? How has it followed a budget? And so a lot of things have happened, too. We've seen councilmembers come and go on their own, not being reelected. We've had different town managers. We've had different development services director. And different economic development directors. And so what Mr. Wesley and I are wanting to do is look at that plan. Not completely throw it away. But see where, okay, what is realistic? What makes sense? And then to create a new one that is a couple of years' old and that is aligned, you know, with the Strategic Plan, with this plan, and with the budget. Because again, if you do a plan and then just shelf it, and then it's not a priority, right? Nothing is going to get done. And this is important. We need a diverse and vibrant downtown. That helps bring Page 20 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION young professionals. It makes more people, right? Want to come to the downtown. And so looking at that. We also want to collaborate with our property owner, Four Peaks Plaza. If some folks aren't familiar with plaza names, that would be the Target Shopping Center. So in the Shae Corridor, to redevelop that area. So again, if you think, too, of '08, I've heard in the past at one point it was thriving. It was full. Now we have COVID. Half that Center is vacant. And so a new trend you see is the mixed development use where there's multifamily, feeding in not only specifically to that Center, but again, being able to contribute to the rest of the community. We also want to explore opportunities for other redevelopment and revitalization. And we've listed out those areas. The downtown area, Shae Corridor, Saguaro, and Fountain Hills Boulevard, and Glenbrook. And so that is quite a bit. And so I'll say, with the downtown and Shae Corridor, that is staff's priority. So again, if you guys have any thoughts on that, and of course, when we bring it to Council. Because we may not be able to tackle everything. And then I mentioned this just previously, but creating zoning districts that allow for flexible uses within the downtown and Shae Corridor. So again, there's been opportunities with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. So they'll receive different pipeline of businesses who are interested. They also will share stuff with the Arizona Commerce Authority. And so there's been several opportunities with bioscience companies. So looking at square footage, number of employees, that it's, like, I have the perfect building. And then I have to talk to Mr. Wesley, that sometimes can be the bad guy. I'm the good guy. And say, what's going on with the zoning. And it's, like, oh. But I'll tell you -- [LAUGHTER] JACOBS: -- oh, I know. I introduced him -- [LAUGHTER] JACOBS: -- I introduced him. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). Page 21 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION JACOBS: I know. So but with that we want to ensure if people are wanting to grow. So that goes back to the business retention expansion, that we're not setting them up. And ITs, John Wesley. But when we can, we try to be flexible and understand, okay, what truly is sort of an industrial? Or what is office space? So two, we'd recently went to the watch company. And so they have a clean room and production. And so it's actually a small percentage. And then most of it is office and storage. And so those are some things we can work with. But when were starting to hear a 60 or 70 percent, that high percentile, it's, like, you know what, were not even going to submit Fountain Hills. And so there's opportunities in some of these areas to talk to the property owners and say, hey, let's add some of these uses. Having this in a plan can generate excitement. I'll tell you with one of these bullets, because I sent it back out to some of the folks in January, at 1:25 p.m., they're, like, hey, I saw this in the plan. When can we meet and talk about doing business in Fountan Hills? So that, one, signals a message. But two, to your point Commissioner, it becomes an incentive. Because what we can do is say, hey, here's the path if you're meeting these zoning requirements. If two, some of these flexible zoning -- were looking at elevating. So again, if you think of Palisades. A lot of that, there is one level. If we decided to go two or three story, to say, this is easy, now, Mr. Wesely, can be the good guy and say yes to you. Or if they're wanting to go four stories, or not follow that zoning, then it's showing them a different path. That you're going to have to add four to six months because of permitting, sometimes going to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Going to Town Council. I will pause. 1 have another slide on attraction. GARMAN: Right. JACOBS: But any questions? GARMAN: Yeah, we do, Jill. KEEFE: Thank you for this. I had a question specifically about the downtown --just to even focus on the Avenue of the Fountains. Has your office done any study on how Page 22 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION many businesses that are not retail or restaurants that are occupying retail and restaurant space? And are there any proposed actions to free up some of that space for true retail and restaurant use? JACOBS: 5o Mr. Chair, Commissioner, we have evaluated that. I don't have the number off the top of my head. But we see that that's an area of opportunity. And so diving in to a new strategy could help us get there. You're welcome. GARMAN: Phil. SVEUM: Amanda, has there been a public submittal for the Target redevelopment? JACOBS: Mr. Chair, Commissioner, there has been. And so they have submitted a formal submittal. Over the summer, they were doing their due diligence, so they are required to get public comment. And so based off of public comment, John's staff, again, with development services, they're in the process of making some modifications. GARMAN: When you say public comments, has it been presented at the Planning Commission? Or is it -- I guess I haven't seen anything at all. JACOBS: So yes -- so no, I apologize -- oh. John. WESLEY: Hello. JACOBS: Hello. WESLEY: Do you want me to help out? JACOBS: Yes. WESLEY: Okay. So in order to allow the multifamily zoning at that property, they'll have to rezone because the current zoning doesn't allow it. And so they have submitted that rezoning application. And it's still in the staff level review. It hasn't made it to any public meetings yet. But they want -- part of the ordinance requirements is that they begin a citizen participation process, which happens before any public hearing. So they started that so that with -- been reaching out. I'm not sure who, exactly, but some of the neighbors in the area to start to get some of that early public comment. SVEUM: I guess I haven't seen any press on it or anything in the paper. I don't know why. Maybe I missed it. WESLEY: I don't think it has been yet, it hasn't -- Page 23 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION SVEUM: No designs shown in the public? No. WESLEY: They have been submitted. They are public documents if you'd want to see them, you could. But -- SVEUM: Major development -- WESLEY: Yes, it is. SVEUM: -- it'd be nice to be aware. WESLEY: Yeah. It's only -- it will get, you know, when they're ready we'll definitely be publicizing. We'II have the public hearings-- SVEUM: Okay. WESLEY: -- but anybody that is interested now, want to come, we could show it to them. Anything else on that while I'm here? GARMAN: Nope. I think we can continue. JACOBS: Yeah. I'll add to the -- the public participation, being that citizen participation of who the immediate neighbors are. And so it hasn't, too, become to public, just because, I mean, again, it's a public record, but we're wanting the applicant to have time, you know, to receive the feedback. If we start pushing it out there -- SVEUM: Sure. JACOBS: -- and then the immediate residents, they may think, wow, the developer did not hear me. There's no changes. And so allowing them that opportunity to make the updates. And then, when it's right to go before Planning and Zoning, that that's the official submittal. But it doesn't mean there can't be any additional changes. SVEUM: Can I ask one other question? GARMAN: Yeah. WESLEY: I'm going to jump in with one more thing, if you don't mind, Chair. Part of -- my understanding with this is there are some other changes that are being anticipated for the remaining commercial center. They're trying to explore those so they can bring that all together as a package is one of the reasons why they're not getting too far ahead yet with the residential piece. SVEUM: Are there zoning ordinances that need to be revised to allow, maybe the new Page 24 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION economy that has developed here in the last ten years? WESLEY: Chair, Commissioner, that is one of the things that I think was in Amanda's list there. That we do want to look at our zoning allowances and see where some modifications can be made to facilitate what we want to have happen. Make it as easy as we can. Drawing some experiences from elsewhere -- SVEUM: Uh-huh. WESLEY: -- to maybe create some overlays or some new districts and get them in place. Then, if somebody wants to, then use that, they can opt in to and get it streamlined. Streamlines the process quite a bit for somebody, again, wants to do what we want to have done -- SVEUM: Thank you. WESLEY: -- so we'll be looking at those things. SVEUM: Thanks. JACOBS: Continue? Or do you have a question? GARMAN: Continue. No, I'm thinking because we're all very keyed in, as you can tell. JACOBS: Yes. GARMAN: Because this is interesting. So I apologize for this line of questioning, but how long do you think the rest of your presentation is going to be with our questions factored in? Because I'm just looking at the timeline, just to be truthful. In other words, you know, are we here two hours tonight? Are we here an hour -- JACOBS: It could be -- GARMAN: -- and a little bit tonight and then at -- we -- JACOBS: -- two hours. GARMAN: -- or we go to next month and we have phase 2 next month. But I know you wanted to, like, get moving, going forward. JACOBS: I think, hopefully, maybe two hours. GARMAN: So you want to -- JACOBS: I can't anticipate the questions. GARMAN: So okay. Page 25 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: How many more slides do you have? JACOBS: Someone can count them for me. GARMAN: No, no. So you want to finish one render tonight? JACOBS: Yes. GARMAN: Okay. JACOBS: And ideally -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: Yes, that -- yeah. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible) JACOBS: We-- GARMAN: I know. I know. I'm tracking. JACOBS: -- want to get it to Council, yup. GARMAN: Okay. JACOBS: Okay. All right. We're plugging away. So one thing, too, is developing and publicizing a streamlined development review process. And then, looking, too, with some of those high economic impact projects, is there a way -- you'll see in some municipalities where you offer double, triple, an expedited review. There's obviously a fee to that. But coming in, there is a lot of things that Fountain Hills is doing where it's very streamlined. And so this is our opportunity to tell that story. If we're not telling the story, someone else is putting a different narrative out there. So there's some tenant improvements where, if it's not, you know, a full-blown improvement, well, we're not even actually going to the permitting process. The building official goes in, talks to the property owner. And so that is easy. That's something that should be touted. Some of our permits don't have fees. So those are things, again, we could tout. But also, look at, as we're talking with developers, where can we be more efficient? And then, diversing our housing opportunities within Fountain Hills for multifamily and Work Force. So again, sort of painting that picture earlier, the supply/demand issue. Looking at the Page 26 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION current industries. Things are just not matching up. And we have heard this constantly. Betsy and I during our site visits with the businesses, that they're having to pull from Mesa, Chandler, and then at times, it's like, oh my gosh. That's what Geoff said. It's too far. Or looking at the gas prices. So what can we do to assist that? Some of that is not in our control. You'll see some municipalities offer incentives. We're not thinking about that. were not sure if the community would stomach that. But I'll tell you, there's been about three developers that have approached Mr. Wesely and me of, maybe we could provide some type of Work Force, first housing. And so stay tuned to see what happens with that. And then developing architectural design standards to encourage a cohesiveness with the community. So again, the municipality I had started with, everything was copper patina. The businesses were, like, what? And new people came. You couldn't find anything. And so we began to modify that. So coming here, I'm, like, okay, like, could we have some type of standards. And so looking, too, at the downtown, to come into Fountain Hills, into the downtown, and know you're in the downtown. And so looking at that. And also talking to some of the existing property owners that would they be interested in some type of facade improvement. And sometimes, again, when you see that, a person looks and it's like, hum, they've updated. Now we need to start updating our standards, the architectural design. I think this is the last business attraction one. So partnering with the Arizona State Land Department. 5o again, as a town we are landlocked. Our next opportunity is with state land. I believe it's been several years and maybe before Mr. Wesley's time, that we put together a conceptual land use plan. And so just having this on here, again, this is not going to happen overnight. It may not happen in ten years. Because, again, what happens is, you'll meet with one state land commissioner and the staff, then there's a new one. And there are significant requirements. But again, the community -- this has been important. People want to know who've invested here, who are residents, that the town is being forward thinking on this piece Page 27 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION of property. And then, wanting to modify our public art policy for performing and temporary art. So right now, it's wonderful. We have over 100 pieces of art. But then to say, well, just -- I'm just going to say developer. I'm not going to give the developer's name. But let's just say they still need to give the town -- they've committed to five art pieces that are $50,000. What would happen if we modified the policy and said, hey, instead of having to fabricate, do a call to artist, get these sculptures. What if you gave that money back to the town, and we were able to contribute to performing and temporary art? Different concerts series within the total downtown center. I was able to talk to the chair of the Public Art committee. She thought that was pretty interesting. And just bouncing this idea off of other folks, that again, that were more -- we say that word arts community, but what could we do to just even enhance that more to bring folks here? And then tying into that, too, creating a place, making strategy to enhance the vibrancy of downtown. And so, place making is looking at public spaces, how it fits in. Seeding, also murals. The Town Council did commit 25,000 for some mural projects that will be starting and should have done before November 1st of this year. So that will be exciting. Add a little color to our downtown. I'm not seeing any microphones, Chair, Commissioners, so go into Business Retention. All right. So again, last June the Town and the Chamber partnered on a formal business retention and expansion program. And so we're trying to meet with businesses multiple times a week. And something that's not traditional but has worked in my career, is we actually bring in a rotating councilmember. Oftentimes what we hear from the business owners, it's impacting at the policy -level maker's decision. And so for them to hear directly from the horse's mouth, have them evoke that emotion where there's issues, then when things are brought forward, it makes it a bit easier, because it's not just, oh, Amanda and Betsey just said that. They are hearing directly. And so continuing to monitor those trends. I'll say the past year, things that came up are signage. Really, what we heard was just some confusion, like, what do we need to Page 28 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION do? And so Economic Development and Development Services started to put an infographic together, because people are visual. Tell me the dimensions, tell me what it looks like, so I don't get in trouble. We've put that on hold just because we are in the process of updating the full temporary signs, that Section of the Code. The other issue is communication, but communication specifically surrounding from our restaurants, let us know when these big events are happening because we have issues with staffing. We want to make sure that we ramp up, especially during our festivals. So that when people are coming and traveling here and dining in our restaurants, that there having wonderful experience and want to come back and are not frustrated for long lines. And then, of course, we talked about the Work Force, and then Work Force housing. We're wanting to continue for the last two years, we've shared the cost, the Town and the Chamber, on a Shop Local summer campaign. And continuing the importance of that messaging. Some of our residents do not realize that they do not pay a local property tax. And so the town relies heavily for quality of services on our sales tax. So just making sure we're getting that message out. And again, our retailers, you know, thanks you, especially during the summer, how important that is. And then, partnering with the Chamber as well to have a business welcome package. So when we're getting someone obtaining a business license, they're a storefront, that we're going in hand with a joint packet, a letter welcoming them. And again, having some of that material where they're set up for success. And so that is actually in process. And then, creating a second Thursday concept along the Avenue of the Fountains. We've heard, too, like there's not a lot, you know, to do. Or we have the concerts, we love them, but how can we amplify it? And so 1 have the second Thursday tune quotations. It could be a first Friday, as you see in other municipalities, but again, just the concept overall. And then conducting a market analysis of existing businesses who have the potential to expand in Fountain Hills. So we have a few restaurants that are doing that. There's a Page 29 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION few restaurants that have approached us, want to do a new concept. This is fine for me to publicize, but we all know the Fountain Hills Medical Center. And then Adero Resort. They have plans to expand. And so making sure that we are ready for that. Making sure the Town is not some issue, preventing them to make that expansion. And I'll tell you right now, it's not us. Some of it is just, you know, increased numbers, financing, et. cetera. But just making sure that we're aware. Seeing no movement, Marketing. So creating a -- GARMAN: The expansion -- JACOBS: Okay. GARMAN: -- there was a lot in that. It was a lot. JACOBS: Um -hum. GARMAN: It was a lot. So that's my only comment. I don't know. Phil. SVEUM: Question. Amanda, any idea what the impact is of the Airbnb business out here in Fountain Hills? JACOBS: I'm going to look to my left. SVEUM: The financial impact? GARMAN: (Indiscernible). JACOBS: The financial impact. WESLEY: Chair, Commissioner, I'm not sure how much I can really comment on that directly. The Council did pass an ordinance that went into effect in February to get them registered. And so we're slowly working through that process. We've had a little bit of challenges with different -- couple of different ways in getting that implemented as fast as we would like. Current estimate is, there's some place just shy of 300 such -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Properties. WESLEY: -- properties in town. That may go backup again. We thought it was a little higher, and it may be just the summer is why it's that low. It may go backup more -- get back on the market. And so part of doing all that then, is getting the -- make sure they have the proper resignations with the county to make sure we're getting all the tax revenues that we should from those, so -- Page 30 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION SVEUM: That's kind of where I was going with it. WESLEY: Right. SVEUM: And there's a decline -- the business, the industry is declining. WESLEY: Um -hum. SVEUM: And I just didn't know what the impact would be on the Town if in fact many of those property owners decide to get out of the business. WESLEY: Right. Right. Yeah, so I don't think it's going to be quite as much as we had thought initially. But overall, again, they've only -- I'm not sure if you remember any of the numbers we kind of kicked around, that it really wasn't a significant number. SVEUM: Okay. WESLEY: Ever. SVEUM: Can I make just one other quick point? I would suggest that with -- if you're looking at the Arizona State Land Department opportunity, I would contact the Master's Program in real estate development at ASU. If you need some contact information of who to talk to -- because they do three scenarios each year with their masters' students. And they would, I think, be very interested in looking at that property. And you can get a very detailed, complete, usable design development out of that, if you're interested. JACOBS: Thank you. I appreciate it. KEEFE: I want to slip in a quick question. How do we know that the Shop Local summer campaign works or is having an impact? JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, Commissioner, some of that is looking at, and again, it's proprietary, but looking year over year at our sales tax revenue. And then, talking specifically to some of the businesses. Are they seeing an increase? Are they remaining flat? Again, it's been a bit mixed. Some folks are saying, you know, this year was a little bit better than last year. But no ones coming in, you know, specifically to say, oh, you know, hey, I saw that ad. So some of it's truly again, that word of mouth. Going to the businesses as well as the sales tax revenues. KEEFE: I didn't know that we had one, a Shop Local campaign. I wouldn't -- how would I have been exposed to that? Page 31 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION JACOBS: So that has been -- we partnered and put it in the "Fountain Hills Times". KEEFE: Oh. JACOBS: And then, last year it was on social media. KEEFE: Oh. Okay, thank you. JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: All right. Next, continue please. JACOBS: All right. So Marketing, creating a comprehensive Economic Development and Tourism marketing plan. And then, putting together industry -specific infographics for targeted audiences. So again, we'll look at this. I haven't really been able to find anything specifically to economic development. So having to work on that. There have been previous tourism marketing plans, but again, they're outdated. And so we've put some of that together for grant funding. But now, again, this past year, with different data, we need to put together specific plans and metrics. And then, creating a comprehensive Economic Development brochure that promotes Fountain Hills. And so we did put together community profile, but because we're going through the branding project, we had an outdated Economic Development strategy. We wanted to wait on this investment, because we know it'll be an investment, a marketing brochure. But this really puts together, again, painting the picture of the things to do, the industry, the quality of life, the public safety, our schools. All of that is interconnected and important. And then, cooperating with key stakeholders on consistent brand messaging. So Commissioner Magazine with, like, the Dark Sky. Or Bo and I discovered a few months ago and cringed, but a realtor had put out a video saying, go to Fountain Hills, it's a sleepy town. It's boring. It has no night life. And yikes, when you're putting that stuff on the websites and doing the search for Fountain Hills, like, some of that elevates up. And we don't want that. Again, to Commissioner Yazzetta's point of, you know, half the people leave. No, 11.8 percent is going to be our number. So working with our stakeholders to make sure we have that messaging, because again, like I say, economic development is a team sport. You guys are my team. All of our residents are a team. Page 32 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION So what are you putting out there to make sure that we are welcoming and people want to come here. You guys are all my ambassadors, too. Pause. GARMAN: I just wanted to comments on the last line on the first bullet, which is, a marketing -- "Create a comprehensive economic development," you know, marketing plan, a "tourism marketing plan." Those are pretty different. You seem to put them together in one bulletin. I was going to say that, to me anyways, as a novice, an economic development plan is pretty different than a tourism marketing plan. Just in my understanding. JACOBS: You are correct. GARMAN: Okay. JACOBS: It was just, again, for spacing, not to have an extra bullet, but we can certainly, if it's confusing, we can separate that out. GARMAN: Okay, thanks. JACOBS: You're welcome. BECK: Mr. Chair, this is Kevin. GARMAN: Hey, Kevin, go ahead. BECK: Yeah. Hey, I am going to make a comment on this one. I'm just a marketing geek my whole life. And somewhat successful in learning a lot from mistakes. And I think we have some others on the Board, too. So probably talk forever on this topic, but willing to help. Some things you mentioned -- the targeted industry. So I mean, if, you know, look at this, and I really haven't. I've been listening. I haven't heard anyone really mention these. You know, from a sports standpoint, we have the premier Frisbee Golf championship in the country, which I'm not a Frisbee golf guy. And I know nothing about it. But I know some people who are. Even here in Indiana, Illinois, they know Fountain Hills from Frisbee Golf. It's amazing, isn't it? And you know, I bet there are some, and are we the capital of the United States for Frisbee Golf? Maybe that's something. Maybe that's an event on a weekend, and maybe that's a lot of money coming in for business, who knows. Page 33 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION You mentioned the Dark Skys and the planetarium -- the 17th, International Dark Sky Community, that's an excellence for us. You know, there's a couple of others in the United States, but we're pretty much premier on that. Do we market that through that targeting industry? You know, I can mention the golf courses. People know WE -KO -PA. People know, you know, Eagle Mountain. People know all these golf courses. We are the excellence of golf courses. So is Scottsdale, but heck with them, you know. I mean, really, if we wanted to market that, that might be something in Golf Magazine or it might be something -- there is a Frisbee Golf magazine, believe it or not. I didn't know.that. I actually researched it. And you know, you look at that and those are things we've got, been going on. And I get worried because the town doesn't make much money on them. The town and the businesses, maybe they get people there. Maybe the thing, but as I understand it, unless I'm wrong, we aren't capitalizing with our commerce and business to be marketing that, hey, we got the best course right around the lake of Frisbee golf. We've got that best 17 Dark Sky Community, internationally, competing with Japan and Sweden and so forth. Were listed in the Smithsonian with that. 5o those are some fun things to think about. And now is not the time to really go through it. It's just kind of stirring the pot a little bit. Maybe those are some targeted industries, pick one or two, where it doesn't take much, but to market those. And we've got a pretty big event, annual event we, you know, put us on the map more. That was just my thought. I'm have -- we talk much more about that, or is that too much out of scope? GARMAN: Do you have any comments, Amanda? JACOBS: Yes. Mr. Chair, Commissioner, so again, Kevin, appreciate everything you're saying. For this discussion, it's a little, like, we're going too far, starting to create that plan. And so again, we can have future conversations one-on-one. We're documenting everything that you're saying -- sorry, Chair -- in the verbatim minutes -- [LAUGHTER] Page 34 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION JACOBS: -- but also with John Perez. And so again, just for today, it's really, you know, do we support the concepts in here? The different strategies being put forth. And then, we'll consider some of those things that you're saying. I'll say we've brought up some of those things in our internal meetings that we need to capitalize on. So as we're starting to implement and put those plans together, we'll start to see that. BECK: Thanks. JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: Great, thanks. Thanks, good comments, Kevin. Cynthia. MAGAZINE: Just real quickly, to support what Kevin is saying. I don't think it had occurred to me to lump all those things into a sports category, but he's right. And one of the things that happens is the people who come for those events spend the night here. At Airbnb's or hotels, but that was something you mentioned early on in your presentation. Thanks, Kevin. JACOBS: And we can consider with the tourism, to put a slash or parenthesis, sports tourism. Because there are two different types of things to go after related to tourism. GARMAN: And I think you've been emphasizing the skatepark. Kids come in to do that, too. We've had events there, too. So something -- all right, go ahead, Amanda. JACOBS: Okay. All right, Strategic Partnerships. I think we're going to have three more slides. So determining the possibility of creating a coworking space to assist startups and home -based businesses. So again, this has been mentioned in the public. This past fiscal year, we had the Arizona Business Advisories look at, you know, sort of the market conditions. And so looking at spacing, how far a coworking space and Mesa is, Chandler, et. cetera. There is a possibility for Fountain Hills with a potential public/private partnership to create a coworking space. And then, especially looking at some of our home -based businesses who are coming in. You know, sometimes it is boring just to be at home. And so can they be in a space, coworking with others and collaborating. Identifying opportunities to attract a university or satellite campus. Again, thinking of Dark Sky, I have bumped into some designers and architects in the community who are Page 35 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION residents or former residents, and they told me that in the past there was a design school. So unpacking some of those things, like, why is that not working? A couple months ago Bo, John, and I met with Dr..) with the school district to have him start giving us some data. As folks are looking at their career paths, what are things we could tackle, and collaborating with some of the communities that, again, could we attract a university or satellite campus? Collaborating with some of our other colleges to build a talent pipeline. So that's again --talent pipeline meaning employees. Are there flexible certificate programs, on- the-job training. With some of our businesses, they're getting folks that maybe need a little help, you know, maybe it's the first time -- their first-time job. How can we help them? Collaborating with Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation to improve the aesthetics along the entryway into Fountain Hills. Again, you've heard me say, as I was on the Beeline and went on to Shae, seeing some of the buildings are faded, way fading signs, it didn't give me a warm, fuzzy. I was, like, hum, so what are other people thinking? What type of brand messaging is that sending? And then, partnering with Ft. McDowel and Salt River Indian Community, to explore economic growth opportunities off the Beeline. 5o we'll see, there's not a lot of development along there. Sometimes it feels so long, probably too, because you're not seeing anything surrounded. And so to talk with them, having Mayor Dickey meet with the presidents of both the Nations to see, what are their plans? Can we inspire them to do something? And so again, being the immediate community, then some of that sales tax leakage could come to Fountain Hills. So it's a dot process behind that. I will pause. Seeing none, all right, Tourism. So we have an opportunity to attract a new resort to support new meetings and conventions that will generate, again, that bed and sales tax. We do have four hotels. If you combine everything and what they're putting out, there's only over 300 room nights. And some of are smaller hotels, which most of them are smaller, Adero is, you know, considered the resort, there are opportunities to have Page 36 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION more meetings and conventions here. And working with the hotel operator to provide that. Some of our hotels have gotten rid of some of that, again, and aftermath of COVID. So what can we do, again, to bring people here? Attracting a new signature event to generate overnight stays. We've had event promotors contact us that are wanting to do a two- or three-day event. To again, assist with that tourism. Some of them are hoping for a little bit of skin in the game. Could we provide some money? Could we waive some fees? So navigating that. And in collaborating with some of our hotels on existing events in an effort to generate overnight stays. So again, let's just take the Irish Fest, is going to our hotels and saying, hey, we have this event coming, people possibly could be drinking, it's Irish Fest, how do we entice them to stay. But working with them, some folks don't realize, if you don't have a booking room block and some type of code, there's no way of really knowing. They will just categorize it if you go to the sales manager as, well, you know, it was just leisure. If we have that partnership where we can say, and we're putting it out on social media, on our collateral material, on Experience Fountan Hills, that, they, when you're corning here, stay at Adero, book, you know, Irish Fest 24, then we can see how we're pulling in that data. Wanting to support the progress of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. Again, we had a nice meeting earlier this week, but we'll wait a couple of weeks to put some more information about that, but extremely excited. The town is here to support the Center. And then, this is a correction, so again, Commissioner Magazine, thank you, Mr. John Kraft (phonetic) who you guys know, reached out to me. I had, I think the International Dark Skys -- I've changed this. So partnering with the Fountain Hills' Dark Sky Association to identify a permanent location with Fountain Hills for star gazing. So again, Phil mentioned, again, the Dark Sky. Geoff has brought it up. So what has been interesting is, is we've seen an uptick and people are calling us, where can I star gaze. And so talking with Vickie and John with the Dark Sky Association, a lot of it is based off of an event. We're having a challenging time saying, well, hey, go to Fountain Page 37 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Park this specific, you know, location, when it's convenient for you. Not having Vickie or Ted (phonetic) with the Association kind of following you around town. And so we've had some preliminary meetings with the Association, with Community Services, and so want to work on that. Because again, we have this designation, what are we doing with it and how can we capitalize? And then, cross -promoting events with the nearby community partners to capitalize on regional experiences. So again, we sort of missed out, apologies, but when we had the Superbowl, you know, could we have done something? And so being forward thinking, seeing again with spring training, what can we do to say, okay, while you're here, also come to Fountain Hills and you can do x, y, z. And then, determining potential economic development and tourism opportunities within Fountain Park itself. Sometimes you hear, I have said too, when I was coming -- before I even got the job, you know, doing my research. You go to the fountain, it's beautiful, it goes off for 15 minutes. And then I thought again, now what do I do? And then I admitted to some of you guys, I went to Chandler because I kind of grew up in there. I'm sorry, the Chair is looking at me. But my great grandparents lived there. I have an aunt, I have a great-uncle, I didn't know what to do. And I know Chandler. So I'm, like, I'm going to go there. So again, what can we do? We have event space, it's become event space, but if you talk to our professionals in Community Services, the fountain wasn't really designed for that. Kevin Snipes (phonetic) is not here, and probably hurt me for saying this, but is there an opportunity to have some types of floats in the fountain? I have no idea. That was in some of our previous plans. Who knows? What are the opportunities. But there could be an opportunity for some grant funding to again, have a consultant look at that for us. Again, do some research to see how we can capitalize. I'm pausing. I'll go back. BECK: I do -- Mr. Chair -- GARMAN: Oh, are you, did you cover it -- JACOBS: Oh, so I stopped — Page 38 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION GARMAN: -- okay. JACOBS: -- I think we had Jill, Phil, and Kevin. GARMAN: No. I was looking at, are you finished with the last piece on that slide? Okay. JACOBS: Yes. I'm hearing yes. I think I've got through everything. GARMAN: Okay. Thanks. Kevin, did you have a comment? BECK: It's going to be very -- you will run out of time, and so I apologize. The Dark Sky, thanks for bringing all of that up. One quick bit that's quite interesting, we just, Celestron, who is the leading producer of telescopes pretty much, they just agreed to donate five scopes to us that are very large. But they're for public viewing. And we're getting three of those right now, this year. We'II get two more later. But it'll be right at the site. And so what I'm thinking, I for one on the Board, and I think several of us, would like to get going and build that thing and we're getting close. But in that regard, then, we will have a theater. We will have releasing space. We will have a viewing area. And they probably heard all of this when you were with the group. But it was a big push for this Celestron thing. It's probably about a $50,000 donation from them. And they're arriving soon. So that's a nice thing. People don't even have to bring their own scopes for star gazing. At least that'll get us started, you know. GARMAN: Awesome. Okay. Thanks, thanks, Kevin. Jill. KEEFE: Thank you for this. I want to put out there that you -- that I personally think that the tourism related strategies are more viable than some of the employer attracting strategies. Not to say it's not possible. I just think you're going to have a bigger impact with tourism. And you didn't call this out, but when you take an inventory of Fountain Hills' greatest assets, they are things to do with the natural beauty or playing, you know, right down to the splash pad. And that is a brand characteristic that we should be leveraging. Now, if you do that, and if it is indeed viable, and the Dark Sky's Observatory brings a lot of traffic, that has to sit on top of an assumption that we're going to make it viable and safe and for that many people to be here. We have a parking problem. We have a people movement problem. And if we're going to consistently bring large volumes of people in, you have to have a Page 39 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION provision for, not just where people are supposed to park and where residents supposed to park when they want to go to the grocery store. And that could include trolleys or some sort of small local people movement solutions. And it has to be safe and there has to be sidewalk at the end. Sorry. JACOBS: Thank you. KEEFE: You know, I know you're asking for feedback. And there's so much to absorb here that, my opinion is that we're going to need to process our thoughts and follow up with you. There's no way to get this out. In one night you've given us so much to chew on. JACOBS: I think you were -- GARMAN: Yeah, Phil, go ahead. SVEUM: Oh. I'm sure this has been something that Betsy has been working on very hard, and that is, how do you get Adero to claim to be in Fountain Hills rather than Scottsdale? GARMAN: It is in Fountain Hills. SVEUM: That's what I mean. JACOBS: So-- SVEUM: But their promotional stuff is Scottsdale. GARMAN: Yeah, they say Scottsdale. (LAUGHTER] JACOBS: Mr. Chair, Commissioner -- GARMAN: I'm sorry. You can -- go ahead, yeah. JACOBS: -- we have talked with Adero. I'll tell you, this is not something that is unusual. Scottsdale does have that brand recognition. The same when I worked in Oro Valley, our Hilton was Hilton Tuson, El Conquistador. There were some things where they used the splashboard valley. And so the owner has committed on some of their marketing material to do that. And so a lot of it is again -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Name recognition. JACOBS: --just the brand recognition. Page 40 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yeah. GARMAN: Cynthia. MAGAZINE: Yes. First of all, I look at this plan and I say two people are going to do all this? This must be a ten-year plan. This can't be a one-year plan. JACOBS: Mr. Chair, Commissioner Magazine, it's a three-year plan. But yes, so it's an Economic Development Plan, but the process owners on some of these will not be all economic development. So you heard things with the zoning, the downtown, that's where Development Services come in. Marketing, Bo, who you've met, who's been a part of this. Looking at Fountain Park, that's Kevin Snipes who couldn't be here. They're at their state conference. And so, I'll kind of go into next steps to help. But hoping today to get feedback. You guys can still, after this as you're absorbing it, give me feedback. But really, trying to bring this to Counsel on September 6th, hopefully, to get approval. And the reason, too, for the accelerated time frame is, we are going to be doing things, hopefully, a little bit different this year, under the management and direction of Manager Goodwin. But having another retreat early on with the Counsel to understand their priorities. And so the hope is, if, for instance, if I do get approval in September, that in November or October I'm going to bring in implementation plan, so with the three years. That will again, it's not going to get deep into the weeds where they're seeing the plan, but the short term, midterm, long term, and so, what we'll bring forth is the short term. And then again, that phased budget approach. So again, for instance, a short term, I'll tell you, is the downtown plan. So getting more information on what the Council wants with that, but being able to tie it to the budget. MAGAZINE: I think, Amanda, one thing that I would suggest is that -- and you just touched on it, that in presenting this to the Council, that you include a page that says, here what we're going to do in the first year. Here are the things in the second year. And here are the things in the third year. To give it some sense of, you can't expect all of this in the first year. You've got to spread it out. We're also used to that kind of planning as a Strategic Planning Advisory Commission. Page 41 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION We would put a time line on things and certainly a priority. So the highest priority things, I assume, go in year one. Assuming that those can be done in one year, et cetera, et cetera. But that's, I think the only concern I have, if I were on the Council, I'd be saying, wow, this is impressive. How are two people going to accomplish this even in three years? So I think they need some sense of your priorities. JACOBS: I appreciate the feedback. GARMAN: Okay. So -- questions -- JACOBS: Any more questions? GARMAN: -- so before I open it up again, what -- first of all, thank you for providing -- JACOBS: You're welcome. GARMAN: -- this to us. And thank you for all the work that's gone into this. Lots of work. And that's what struck me in a comment a couple of times, how much is in here. What would you like from us? And just some background for the Commissioners, you know there was conversation at the beginning about approval of the plan to endorsement of the plan to briefing us about the plan. That was kind of the waterfall. And that's how we ended up with the brief received today. So now, going through this experience with us, what are your thoughts on a way forward? JACOBS: So Mr. Chair, just -- in our conversations talking, I think you had recommended because the SPAC scope is the Town, so the town -wide strategy, I think we both agreed to just get the feedback. Again, we've been documenting all of that. Jill, hopefully, could see me more feedback in a week if you guys feel comfortable. Happy to answer any other questions. But really, we've been gathering all of your feedback, can make some modifications. And then I'm feeling comfortable presenting it to Council. Again, just with some time constraints. And it not being agendized as an official approval from the body. GARMAN: I'm going to make one more comment and then I'll open it up to kind, like, get the general discussion so they can -- but yeah, my comment, my thoughts were that, you know, something like this, if we were to really dig in, like we've done in the past, Page 42 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION you know, the time line would be much longer as some of the other folks sitting here would know. We would look at it, we talk, we dig in, you come back next month. We do it again. Another month. You know there's edits involved down the road. And I don't think you have that kind of -- you don't want that type of timeline is what I understood. So that's where -- JACOBS: I can't have that type of timeline. GARMAN: --right. So-- JACOBS: Unfortunately. Because again, if we start waiting for years, we kind of dealt with that with the budget process this year in trying to do something with our downtown. It was a priority, but what exactly, specifically, in the downtown, you know, was the priority. And again, we had that clock of, okay, it's May, it's June, it's time for budget adoption. So for waiting two, four months, again, we're waiting to implement these things. Again, some of the strategies that we've heard strongly from the community, that we need to start working on, I want to start working on that with the team in getting it in the budget. To keep that momentum. Agan, this is just a proposed draft. And having someone call me at 1:25 and let's get together. Let's keep that momentum going, please, respectively. GARMAN: So that's how we ended up with the brief. Just so everybody sitting up here knows. Okay. So now I want to open it up for any final thoughts and discussions. I see Geoff. Geoff, go ahead. YAZZETTA: Has any previous plan like this existed? JACOBS: So that's the one that's been more than ten -years old. YAllETTA: Okay. JACOBS: And then there was an attempt in 2019, but was not approved. YAZZETTA: Got you, okay. Just personally, I'm of the mindset that this is a very thorough plan and thank you Amanda and John as well. Just being a former public staffer, I can't imagine the hours that went into creating a document like this with only two of you. So bravo -- JACOBS: Thank you. Page 43 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION YAZZETTA: -- but I'm of the mindset that we have a pretty comprehensive plan. I don't think we'll ever have that 100 percent perfect plan, so I would be for endorsing this plan so that that way we can get moving with the next steps. That's just me personally, though. So thank you. GARMAN: Jill. KEEFE: Hey, suggestion. In the targeted industries, I'm still not seeing reconciled in this how the workers at the targeted industries live in this town at these prices. And so either the availability of real estate changes or we have to find a way to attract and make it easy for people that don't live here to work here. But if you don't have a worker base, these aren't successful at -- the employers can't operate here. I do think the tourism, the hospitality, the stay -in -place stuff has a lot of promise, that exploits our natural beauty and facilities and resources that we do have in town. And I think that needs to be leaned into more. And I think that we have just the infrastructural thing missing in my mind, in addition to the beautification of the entry points. The entry points need a little brand identity. Why would I stop? Because it's fun here. Because there's amazing things to do here. Yes. But we still have a people movement problem and I'd love to see you -- that includes a passing nod to -- for this to be successful, these things need to be resolved. There's, you know, I can follow up with additional, like, ideas and thoughts, but those are the big rocks that jumped out at me in this plan, is that some elements of it are more viable than others. JACOBS: Appreciate the feedback. KEEFE: Uh-hum. JACOBS: And again, Jill, you and I can talk more, because again, with some of the assembly that is existing, but it just didn't show up, you know, currently when I started. Some of that is here. And then, some people might be shocked that some of the employees are in Fountain Hills. But again, drawing from other surroundings. But I hear you and -- KEEFE: Um -hum. Page 44 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION JACOBS: -- maybe we can chat more. KEEFE: Yeah. I mean, I guess the final things I'd say is none of it happens if it's not funded. And so you now, you need some flaming assumptions over this, that it is supported and that the public works elements of this are indeed supported and funded in the budget. JACOBS: Thank you. GARMAN: All right. And just to clarify for everybody, you know, were not being asked for any action. And we're not going to take any action. And there's no action in the agenda. So this was an info brief only. It was just for the transcript as well. So before we wind up this portion, quick look to my left. And Cynthia, Cynthia go ahead. MAGAZINE: Just very quickly, Amanda, this is a big wow. I also want to say that the article in the "Fountan Hills Times," I love that paper, but it did not do this plan justice at all. So what you have provided today was very rich and welcomed, thank you. JACOBS: Thank you. And again, a team effort. GARMAN: Go ahead. MAGAZINE: Thanks everybody. GARMAN: Phil. SVEUM: Thanks, Amanda. It really is a great package. And the thing I like about it is that there are so many cool things to work on. I mean, it's not -- this is not a completed puzzle by any stretch of the imagination. So from your perspective, as a community development person, it's got to be exciting to be able to have a wish list that it could be -- it could certainly happen. It's not something that is just pie in the sky. These are great things. So it will keep you busy for a long period of time. That's great, thank you. JACOBS: Thank you. We're excited to get to work, as soon as we get the full green light. GARMAN: Yes. Go ahead. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I just had a follow up from Phil's question earlier on the short- term rental revenues. And I only bring it up because it's interesting to me. We know that the law was changed this past session to get rid of the long-term rentals. So those Page 45 of 59 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION just regular, run-of-the-mill rentals. That was estimated to bring in about 650,000 per year. Just got a message back from our CFO, David Pock, and the last time he figured out the short-term rental, the Airbnb revenue for the town, was 750,000 per year. So you wouldn't think that, but it's because the rate, the taxation rate is so much higher on those short-term rentals. It's about six times higher. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It would be good to see the trend of what it's been. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yeah, it's really difficult for him to split it out. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yeah. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: So he's going off of information from, like, a year ago, because it's — he has to split it out manually from the hotel. JACOBS: Question. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I'll send you an article on that. MAGAZINE: We are -- GARMAN: Go ahead, Cynthia. MAGAZINE: -- we are going to lose the long-term rental tax, correct? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Correct. MAGAZINE: Couldn't believe that the governor signed that. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yeah. It's just surprising that it's less than the short term. The Airbnb, without the hotels, is more than the traditional rental, residential, long-term rental. MAGAZINE: Yeah. But that doesn't itself offset the loss of the 650 -- UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: No. Yeah, were going to have to find that --figure that out. GARMAN: So I would, as we wrap this up, if I could offer final comments just for you, are you okay? JACOBS: Oh, yeah, I'm okay. Yup. GARMAN: I just keep going back. There was a lot, it's a big plan, and as I'm thinking about it, I just kept -- somebody has done a lot of planning and implementation over the years is, this seems like its own standalone plan. This is its own standalone plan. And it all fits into, like, a larger goal. And have you thought about harnessing, you know, the -- Page 46 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION what do I want to say, the structure you have from the Town as far as not just the Town government, but the Commissions as well, and kind of help you when you go forward and say, hey, Parks and Rec Commissioner, Community Services, do you do this? Hey, some of this might have to do with the McDowell Mountain Preserve, maybe they can work on that. And I'm -- you know what mean? And try to -- because there's two of you, and it's just a lot in here to work on. So maybe there's folks that could help you with different pieces of this plan, going forward. Especially after you receive guidance from the Council. Just a thought. JACOBS: You know, I appreciate that. And definitely again, this is cross -departments. Some of it's operational, where we can lean on the Commissions. We certainly will. I appreciate it. GARMAN: I don't see any more lights on, Amanda. You -- JACOBS: Thank you. GARMAN: -- you lied to us, it didn't take two hours? JACOBS: Okay. [LAUGHTER] JACOBS: I know, and you still have that urgent item. GARMAN: Thank you very much. JACOBS: Thank you guys very much. GARMAN: Thanks for coming. And you know, when you take this to Council, we'll forward it to you, want to come back and have a sounding board, you're always welcome. Thank you. JACOBS: All right. I appreciate it. GARMAN: All right. JACOBS: Thank you. GARMAN: Okay. So thank you for all that. Thank you for your patience, by the way, everybody on our Council, for looking through that and asking such great questions. I think it really helps the Town for us to sort through that and provide comments on the plan. Page 47 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION Okay. So if you see on the agenda, there is --there's a few things that we can move through, but one is -- the next one is Discussion and Possible Action on Workgroups and Assignments. And I really wanted to get on record with that tonight. But I don't think it's going to take crazy, a lot of time, unless you all have a lot of comments on it. This was our discussion back in May and June about moving forward over the coming year to start the building blocks for the next strategic plan for the Town of Fountian Hills. And we looked at different ways to do that. Two kind of fell out naturally, we had people that wanted to participate in. So they kind of had an interest. One was a workshop setup during the year. And one was looking at kind of the, I'll say, nonprofits and service organizations within the Town and talking to them and the members that they represent. And the goal then, from this year, we try to get at the really large, in our current planning called Strategic Priorities, they're really underpinnings, the pillars, I guess, that any strategic plan would rest on. Typically, there's only a couple to a few to four, I'm seeing some five or six, but a few. And we want to try to get at them with comments and opinions, try to get the pulse of the Town of Fountain Hills and its citizens. So I think we started that conversation. We were going to break up into a couple workgroups. And then those workgroups would go out and do great things and come back and brief our Commission, at least on a monthly basis, with the goal, again, of having output from those two workgroups that we can incorporate by next -- in the next spring or end of our sessions, May/June of next year. So that's kind of the goal. Knowing that we're volunteers, knowing that we're all busy with lots of different things. So I didn't want to overwhelm everybody, but these were two aspects that people kind of got excited about and wanted to pursue. So I wanted to go through, we kind of divide into those two workgroups, right? Nonprofits -Service, and a Workshop, polling a workshop. A lot goes into both of those, I understand that right now. But I wanted everybody to go on record, you know, kind of which workgroup do you think you want to be a part of as we go forward. That way we have it in the record. And then, at the end, by the way, once everybody goes through and kind of says which Page 48 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION workgroup we're on and we kind of discussed it a little bit, I would like us all to -- because we have it in the record, or our agenda, take a vote that says, yes, this is the way wanted to go forward. Because if we don't want to go forward, then we should hash it out because I would like it to be -- I don't want to -- I'd like everybody to agree on the way forward going into this year. So at the end of this discussion, we'll take a quick vote on whether everybody is good work the workgroup we're on and the topic of workgroups is okay. So I'm going to look to my cochair first, because one of the workgroups is a workshop and Geoff had talked to us about his experiences with workshops, so what do you think, going forward? YAllETTA: Thank you, Chairman. I would like to be on that workshop subcommittee, I guess you could call it, working for one of the councilmembers in L.A., we coordinated countless events. One of them was an earthquake preparedness summit. Kind of important in Southern California and California in general. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Indiscernible). YAZZETTA: Yeah. We'd have upwards of 500 people. We had the Director of Earthquake Studies from Cal Tech come. Police and Fire were there. A number of other nonprofit groups. To my knowledge, they still do that event. I haven't been there for a few years so I can't say for certain. But this is right in my wheelhouse, so I would love to participate and work on that committee. GARMAN: Great. And okay on splitting into two, going to workshops and, you know, two main emphasis this year? YAZZETTA: Yeah. I think that kind of dials in the two most important things. I know we discussed a number of topics at our June meeting and some of them, you know, just didn't seem to have as much muster as these two. So yeah, I think these two are the way to go. GARMAN: Awesome. All right. I'm going to go to my right, just because I haven't heard from you in a while, Bernie. HOENLE: Lots of stuff going on. Page 49 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION GARMAN: That's okay. HOENLE: The thing about the resources, and it goes along with what Amanda was talking about. We only have a finite number of resources. So we need to figure out how to manage them. And when we had the big workshop a number of years ago in a community center, we had the community come out. They came up with all their ideas. And that really did help get some of the things moving for the Strategic Plan. So we're probably to that point again as we're moving towards the next implementation of a Plan and taking a look at what we're doing. And as was mentioned to the primary, one to get feedback from the community again. It's time to do that. And then, the other one is taking a look at all the -- timing is good and for all the resources for the not -for -profit groups. You get the Rotary, you get Kiwanis, you get the Elks, you get -- a whole list of them. And we have some overlapping and some competing objectives. And some of us are in more than one group. So that's sort of, like, okay, you got to balance out your own schedule. So I think the idea is to focus and depending upon how many people we're going to divide up, if we're going to put two or three on a topic. Then we can focus our own resources internally and start gathering, basically set up some priorities and see what we need to do to tackle in the first month or two and get feedback from those organizations. And that's where it needs to come from. It needs to come from one of their meetings, have them talk about what's going on with town, what they see happening, so that they can be grassroots input as we go through the process. GARMAN: Which one of those two efforts would you like to be a part of? HOENLE: I think I just finished saying on the groups, non -for -profit groups. GARMAN: Nonprofits and service organizations? HOENLE: So you can make your little check -- GARMAN: Checkmark. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: All right, Cynthia. Page 50 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MAGAZINE: (Indiscernible). You always know which one I picked. GARMAN: The transcript doesn't. MAGAZINE: Okay. That's true. Sorry. I'm going to join Bernie in talking to nonprofit organizations. One thing, I think it's probably obvious, but I think that we need to hammer out some questions that are used for every group. It doesn't mean we avoid spontaneity because we want that from the groups. But there need to be some -- our objectives. What are two or three things that we want to make sure were asking? And I think we all need to agree on those. Okay. GARMAN: All right. Thanks, Cynthia. Jill. KEEFE: Workshops. GARMAN: All right. I think you're good with the two, or roger, I got the thumbs up. Phil. SVEUM: Workshop. GARMAN: Who we missing? Kevin. BECK: Yes, sir. So I'll go on record that both are great. And you can substitute me in to the one I don't join, but if I'm putting it all together, I think the groups could probably use a little more resources. And I'm happy to do that. And so, gives an opportunity to meet some of the new or the other folks that I haven't met in the past. So put me down with the groups, but a little check minus with the Workshops, if you need additional resources, I'll do both. GARMAN: Got it, thanks. Thanks, Kevin. I put a check by your name for service organizations and nonprofits. And then I'll probably -- so we kind of have it broken up by, you know, Geoff is the vice chair doing the Workshop. And then I'm going to help out with the nonprofits as well. And there's four people, so you know, there's possibility that we have two and two going to different groups, like you said, Bernie said, we're all members of different organizations as well. So I think that will work out okay. All right. So we have two efforts, two main efforts. And remember, this is all not in stone. I don't want you to all think that this is unchangeable. But this is the way we'll Page 51 of 50 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION move out as far as this year goes. And we're still looking at the town coming to us and talking about implementation. And were still talking about new issues or old similar strategic issues that the town is having, corning in and talking to us about that. So we'll juggle several of these plates during the year. To you a mixed metaphor if anybody caught that. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: Juggling and spin, right? You got that? Yeah, roger, okay, that was good. Okay. But I do want to get us all on record to say that if that's the right way forward or not. So I -- would anybody, we've had a discussion now, it's getting late in the afternoon, early evening, does anybody have a motion on the table as far as two groups and the split between the two workgroups? YAllETTA: I move that we divide this up into two groups, workshop and nonprofit and other service organizations, with the rosters that we just indicated an interest in. MAGAZINE: Second. GARMAN: There's a second. Anybody want to discuss any further? All right, so all -- I can repeat the motion. I'm supposed to repeat the motion, but you know, two workgroups going forward with the roster that we so identified. All in favor, say aye. ALL: Aye. GARMAN: Any opposed, say nay. BECK: Aye. GARMAN: Thanks, Kevin, we got you. So it was unanimous, Angela, a way forward. So thank you all very much. I'm glad we put that to bed. So we will be asking for an update. I'm going to put that on the agenda every month and we'll update on those two efforts going forward, as well as some of the other efforts going on. All right. So that was 8, we're almost complete. The only thing -- I have two things from the Chair -- oh, excuse me, Discussion and Possible Action on Future Agenda Topics. Does any-- I have one before and then I was going to ask if anybody has future topics that they want me to work on. Remember, I already have a list from past meetings as well. Page 52 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION But schools is a topic that I've started to make some inroads in coming to brief us as well. And the reason is, believe it or not, we have a private school in town, too. So not just our public school, but also a private school. So I think we might have some presentations from both of those types of schools to come in and talk to us to see what that looks like in Fountain Hills right now. So education is one thing that I'm working on for this fall. And you've heard implementation. John Wesley is going to come talk to us. Pock is going to talk to us about finance. Who knows if Amanda comes back to us again. 5o implementation and topics from the town as well. Any other topics from Commissioners? Future topics? Geoff. YAllETTA: I can't remember if I put this on your radar, but the Avenue Merchants' Association, they formed, I believe earlier this year, and I think it would be good just to get a sense of what they're doing. I know they're still a rather new group, but you know, just to get them familiar with our Commission and for us to get familiar with what they're up to. GARMAN: Do you have a POC that you'd be able to give me for that? YAZZETTA: I can get that over to you. GARMAN: See if a website -- okay. All right. YAllETTA: Thank you. GARMAN: Absolutely can do that. The only comments, then, I have left from the chairman as we move on to the next agenda item is, the Commission training is now on October 3rd in the afternoon. That's our annual training from the Town. Good training. We all need to be there. All right. Our next meeting is going to be Wednesday, September 27th at the end of next month. So looking forward to that. Move on to the last agenda item, is there any motions on ending this meeting today? UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I so move. YAZZETTA: Second. GARMAN: We have a second. Any discussion left over from the meeting today? Page 53 of 54 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS AUGUST 23, 2023 STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I just wanted to tell you, Patrick, that we were able to align and land that very big topic because you worked so hard to facilitate understanding and agreement prior to the meeting. And while I usually loath meetings, before the meetings, that was a really effective way to get us on the same page. And I appreciate your efficient use of our time. Thank you. GARMAN: And I really appreciate when you see my number pop up on your phone, that you reply. [LAUGHTER] GARMAN: That makes all the difference in the world. So thank you for that. So we have -- so that's discussion. So all in favor of adjourning the meeting today, say aye. ALL: Aye. GARMAN: Any opposed? BECK: Aye. GARMAN: Hearing none, we'll see you on September. Thank you. BECK: By guys. GARMAN: See you, Kevin. Page 54 of 54 Having no further business, Chairman Patrick Garman adjourned the Regular Meeting of the Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission held on August 23, 2023, at 5:55 p.m. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS Geoff azzetta, Vice Chairman ATT ST AND PREPARED BY: Angela Padgett -Espiritu, Executive 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 of Fountain Hills in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the 23rd day of August 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATE yIth)s 27th Day of September 2023. Angela PaQ(jett-Espiritu, Exec ve Assistant DRAFT Community Economic Development Strategy Town's Mission The Town of Fountain Hills' purpose is to serve the best interests of the community by: providing for the safety and well-being of its residents and visitors; respecting its special, small-town character and quality of life; providing superior public services; sustaining the public trust through open and responsive government; and maintaining the stewardship and preservation of its financial and natural resources. To serve and respect and provide trust and stewardship. Town's Vision Fountain Hills is a distinctive community designed to invigorate the body, mind and spirit, and strives to: Be stewards of this unique enclave, dedicated to preserving the environment and visual aesthetic and to living in balance with the Sonoran Desert; Champion the diversity of experiences our residents bring to our community and rely on this depth of experience to innovatively address our challenges; Be economically sustainable and anchor our vitality in an active, vibrant town core that serves us culturally, socially and economically; and, Be civic -minded and friendly, taking responsibility for our Town's success by building partnerships and investing our talent and resources. Executive Summary Using the Town's mission, vision, adopted General Plan and Strategic Plan as a driver, the Town of Fountain Hills Three -Year Community Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is designed to focus on measurable strategic goals and objectives to increase the Town's competitiveness and create a vibrant economy that contributes to the health and well-being of the community. The CEDS serves as a roadmap to build upon the Town's strengths and opportunities, as well as leverage strategic partnerships to address local challenges and enhance economic opportunities. Prior to drafting the CEDS, the Town of Fountain Hills held two workshops with business and community leaders. Based on the feedback from participants, the CEDS will have five focus areas: • Business Attraction • Business Retention and Expansion • Marketing • Strategic Partnerships • Tourism 11Page Focus Area 1: Business Attraction Business attraction is important to a community, because it builds and diversifies the local economy with new businesses; brings in new investment and revenues, expanding the tax base; increases the number and type of jobs available to residents; and generates investment in community assets by providing local options for services, shopping and entertainment improving the overall quality of life. The Town's major employers are primarily service -based industries to include Bashas', Brokers Alliance, Fry's, Fountain Hills Unified School District, Safeway, Target, and Town of Fountain Hills. While not necessarily new industries to the community, the Town will be focusing efforts to expand targeted industries over the next several years to include: Targeted Industries Assembly (small scale) Biosciences Financial Services Healthcare Hospitality Retail Start Ups Implementation Strategies: • Create a new Downtown Strategy consistent with current economic trends. • Collaborate with the property owner of Four Peaks Plaza, located in the Shea Corridor, to redevelop the commercial center to a mixed -use property. • Explore opportunities for redevelopment and revitalization to attract new residents, visitors and businesses, specifically in the Downtown area, Shea Corridor, Saguaro and Fountain Hills Boulevard/Glenbrook. • Create Zoning Districts that allow for flexible zoning uses within the Downtown and Shea Corridor to attract targeted industries and new skilled talent. • Develop and publicize a streamlined development review process for commercial projects that will have a high economic impact on the community. • Diversify housing opportunities within Fountain Hills by pursuing multi -family and workforce housing developments with amenities that are desired by younger professionals. • Develop architectural design standards to encourage cohesiveness throughout the community. • Partner with Arizona State Land Department to prepare for a feasible conceptual land use and circulation plan for the State Trust land in the McDowell Mountain area of the Town. • Modify the public art policy to allow for performing and temporary art. • Create a placemaking strategy to enhance the vibrancy of Downtown. 21Page Focus Area 2: Business Retention and Expansion 80% of new jobs and capital investment comes from companies that already exist in our community. Existing businesses and the local workforce are key components of a community's economic health and research shows that small businesses are the major drivers of job growth, which is why the Town of Fountain Hills and Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce partnered together in June 2022 to launch a formal Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Program. BRE Programs preserve and increase local jobs, preserve and increase local tax revenues, maintain or diversify the local economy and maintain or diversify access to goods and services. Implementation Strategies: • Evaluate trends from the Business Retention and Expansion Program and determine appropriate next steps. • Continue the eight -week Shop Local Summer Campaign to support businesses during the slower months and explore other opportunities to promote the importance of shopping locally. • Partner with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce to create a "Welcome Package" for new businesses. • Create a "2nd Thursday" concept along the Avenue of the Fountains to support the economic vitality of the downtown. • Conduct a market analysis of existing businesses who have the potential to expand in Fountain Hills. Focus Area 3: Marketing Today's businesses can locate anywhere; however, they will only come to our community if they know about it and if our community has what they need. A significant element of economic development is telling a story that creates an attractive brand identity for business, capital investment, and prospective residents. To achieve long-term economic development success, it will be essential for Fountain Hills to prioritize efforts to attract new talent in search of a better place to live, young professionals in search of a place to build a career, and entrepreneurs and investors who are looking to build companies. Implementation Strategies: • Create a comprehensive economic development and tourism marketing plan and industry - specific infographics for targeted audiences. • Create an economic development marketing brochure that promotes Fountain Hills as an ideal destination for businesses. • Collaborate with key stakeholders on consistent brand messaging for Fountain Hills. Focus Area 4: Strategic Partnerships Community and business leaders have expressed their commitment to seeing Fountain Hills as a growing and vibrant community. Fountain Hills can leverage the engagement from community and regional partners to support current and future economic initiatives. Implementation Strategies: • Determine the possibility of creating a co -working space to assist startups and home -based businesses. • Identify opportunities to attract a university or satellite campus. 31 Page • Collaborate with ASU, NAU, Maricopa Community College, and local employers to build a talent pipeline through flexible certificate programs and on-the-job training initiatives. • Collaborate with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to improve aesthetics along the entryway into Fountain Hills. • Partner with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to explore economic growth opportunities along the Beeline. Focus Area 5: Tourism Tourism is one of the largest economic contributions to Arizona and its local communities. The Town of Fountain Hills is a tourist destination that offers the benefits of Arizona's sunny climate with outdoor recreational adventures, scheduled special events, golf courses, hiking trails and other attractive visitor amenities. The Town has four hotels with a total of 320 rooms, which contributes to the local economy through bed and sales tax. Implementation Strategies: • Attract new resort to support new meetings and conventions that generate bed and sales tax revenues for the Town. • Attract a new signature event to generate overnight stays in Fountain Hills' hotels and resorts. • Collaborate with hotels on existing events in an effort to generate overnight stays. • Support the progress of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center to serve as a national and international attraction for visitors. • Partner with the International Dark Sky Association to identify a permanent location within Fountain Hills for stargazing. • Cross promote events with nearby community partners to capitalize on regional experiences, such as Spring Training and WM Phoenix Open. • Determine potential economic development and tourism opportunities within Fountain Park to increase visitation. 41 Page rt 0 7,0 www.fountainhillsaz.gov Data + Trends FOUNTAIN HILLS FH Demographics Population: 24,000 www.fountainhillsaz.gov Median Age: 58 Bachelor's Degree or Higher: 49.7% Median Household Income: $87,080 High School Diploma or Higher: 98.7% (, A SW FOUNTAIN HILLS Major Employers • Basha's • Brokers Alliance • Fry's • Fountain Hills Unified School District • Safeway • Target • Town of Fountain Hills Targeted Industries • Current • Financial Services • Healthcare • Professional Services • Proposed • Assembly (small scale) • Biosciences • Financial Services • Healthcare • Hospitality • Retail • Start Ups FOUNTAIN HILLS Apartment Occupancy Rate Apartment Casa Del Lago Pillar at Fountain Hills Park Place at Fountain Hills Occupancy Rate 91% 97% 92% FOUNTAIN HILLS Vacancy Rate - Existing Buildings Industrial 1.3% FOUNTAIN HILLS 9.9% Source: CoStar Source: CoStar/Staff Tourism • Hotel Occupancy: 65.9% • Social Media: 44% increase • Fountain Live Feed: 1.3 million views, during FY • Experience Fountain Hills Website • 32,450 unique visits (35% increase) • Top 5 Cities • Phoenix • Scottsdale • Mesa • Los Angeles • Chandler Community Engagement • Community Engagement • Community Leaders Workshop -January 12 • Public Workshop - April 12 • Councilmember Meetings - May and June • Strategic Planning Advisory Commission - August 23 www.fou ntain h i l lsaz.gov FOUNTAIN HILLS www.fountainhillsaz.gov Focus Areas + Implementation Strategies FOUNTAIN H ILLS Focus Areas • Business Attraction • Business Retention and Expansion • Marketing • Strategic Partnerships • Tourism www.fountainhillsaz.gov FOUNTAIN H ILLS Business Attraction • Create a new Downtown Strategy consistent with current economic trends. • Collaborate with the property owner of Four Peaks Plaza, located in the Shea Corridor, to redevelop the commercial center to a mixed -use property. • Explore opportunities for redevelopment and revitalization to attract new residents, visitors and businesses, specifically in the Downtown area, Shea Corridor, Saguaro and Fountain Hills Boulevard/Glenbrook. • Create Zoning Districts that allow for flexible zoning uses within the Downtown and Shea Corridor to , attract targeted industries and new talent. FOUNTAIN HILLS Business Attraction Continued • Develop and publicize a streamlined development review process for commercial projects that will have a high economic impact on the community. • Diversify housing opportunities within Fountain Hills by pursuing multi -family and workforce housing developments with amenities that are desired by younger professionals. • Develop architectural design standards to encourage cohesiveness throughout the community. re FOUNTAIN HILLS Business Attraction Continued • Partner with Arizona State Land Department to prepare for a feasible conceptual land use and circulation plan for the State Trust land in the McDowell Mountain area of the Town. • Modify the public art policy to allow for performing and temporary art. • Create a placemaking strategy to enhance the vibrancy of Downtown. FOUNTAIN HILLS Business Retention & Expansion • Evaluate trends from the Business Retention and Expansion Program and determine appropriate next steps. • Continue the eight -week Shop Local Summer Campaign to support businesses during the slower months and explore other opportunities to promote the importance of shopping locally. • Partner with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce to create a "Welcome Package" for new businesses. • Create a "2nd Thursday" concept along the Avenue of the Fountains to support the economic vitality of the downtown. • Conduct a market analysis of existing businesses who have the potential to expand in Fountain Hills. FOUNTAIN HILLS Marketing • Create a comprehensive economic development and tourism marketing plan and industry -specific infographics for targeted audiences. • Create an economic development marketing brochure that promotes Fountain Hills as an ideal destination for businesses. • Collaborate with key stakeholders on consistent brand messaging for Fountain Hills. FOUNTAIN H ILLS Strategic Partnerships • Determine the possibility of creating a co -working space to assist startups and home -based businesses. • Identify opportunities to attract a university or satellite campus. • Collaborate with ASU, NAU, Maricopa Community College, and local employers to build a talent pipeline through flexible certificate programs and on-the-job training initiatives. • Collaborate with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to improve aesthetics along the entryway into Fountain Hills. • Partner with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to explore economic growth opportunities along the Beeline. www.fountainhillsaz.gov FOUNTAIN HILLS Tourism • Attract new resort to support new meetings and conventions that generate bed and sales tax revenues for the Town. • Attract a new signature event to generate overnight stays in Fountain Hills' hotels and resorts. • Collaborate with hotels on existing events in an effort to generate overnight stays. • Support the progress of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center to serve as a national and international attraction for visitors. FOUNTAIN H ILLS Tourism Continued • Partner with International Dark Sky Association to identify a permanent location within Fountain Hills for stargazing. • Cross promote events with nearby community partners to capitalize on regional experiences, such as Spring Training and WM Phoenix Open. • Determine potential economic development and tourism opportunities within Fountain Park to increase visitation. �r No• FOUNTAIN HILLS Next Steps • SPAC recommendation • September/October Council meeting • Implementation Plan and Phased Budget Approach www.fountainhillsaz.gov FOUNTAIN HILLS www.fountainhillsaz.gov Questions? rt FOUNTAIN HILLS Implementation Familiarization March 2022 Plan Approval Timeline: 2023 - 2027 ♦ Strategic Priorities • Signature Strategies ♦ Supporting Tasks Editing, SotlallutIon, Submission, Approval