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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDApacket__10-27-21_0535_191       NOTICE OF MEETING REGULAR MEETING STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION    Chairman John Craft, Jr.  Vice Chairman Patrick Garman Commissioner Chad Bernick Commissioner Gerard Bisceglia Commissioner Mary Edman Commissioner Bernie Hoenle Commissioner Cynthia Magazine TIME:4:00 P.M. – REGULAR MEETING WHEN:WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021 WHERE:FOUNTAIN HILLS COUNCIL CHAMBERS 16705 E. AVENUE OF THE FOUNTAINS, FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ Commissioners of the Town of Fountain Hills will attend either in person or by telephone conference call; a quorum of the Town’s Council,  various Commission, Committee or Board members may be in attendance at the Commission meeting. Notice is hereby given that pursuant to A.R.S. §1-602.A.9, subject to certain specified statutory exceptions, parents have a right to consent before the State or any of its political subdivisions make a video or audio recording of a minor child. Meetings of the Commission are audio and/or video recorded and, as a result, proceedings in which children are present may be subject to such recording. Parents, in order to exercise their rights may either file written consent with the Town Clerk to such recording, or take personal action to ensure that their child or children are not present when a recording may be made. If a child is present at the time a recording is made, the Town will assume that the rights afforded parents pursuant to A.R.S. §1-602.A.9 have been waived  REQUEST TO COMMENT The public is welcome to participate in Commission meetings. TO SPEAK TO AN AGENDA ITEM, please complete a Request to Comment card, located in the back of the Council Chambers, and hand it to the Executive Assistant prior to discussion of that item, if possible. Include the agenda item on which you wish to comment. Speakers will be allowed three contiguous minutes to address the Commission. Verbal comments should be directed through the Presiding Officer and not to individual Commissioners. TO COMMENT ON AN AGENDA ITEM IN WRITING ONLY, please complete a Request to Comment card, indicating it is a written comment, and check the box on whether you are FOR or AGAINST and agenda item, and hand it to the Executive Assistant prior to discussion, if possible.      Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting of October 27, 2021 1 of 3            1.CALL TO ORDER – Chairman Craft     2.ROLL CALL – Chairman Craft     3.CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(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 Commission, and (ii) is subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. The Commission 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 commissioners may (i) respond to criticism, (ii) ask staff to review a matter, or (iii) ask that the matter be placed on a future Commission agenda.     4.UPDATE ON New Commissioner     5.CONSIDERATION OF Approving the September 16, 2021, Meeting Minutes.       6.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OF Communications and Monitoring Plan     7.CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OF Updated Signature Strategies and Supporting Tasks     8.REVIEW OF Updated SWOT Analysis     9.REVIEW OF Alignment Analysis - Proposed Strategic Priorities and SWOT     10.REVIEW OF Infrastructure Appendix     11.ADJOURNMENT        Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting of October 27, 2021 2 of 3     CERTIFICATE OF POSTING OF NOTICE The undersigned hereby certifies that a copy of the foregoing notice was duly posted in accordance with the statement filed by the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission with the Town Clerk. Dated this  21 day of  October, 2021 _____________________________________________  Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant   The Town of Fountain Hills endeavors to make all public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities. Please call 480-816-5199 (voice) or 1-800-367-8939 (TDD) 48 hours prior to the meeting to request a reasonable accommodation to participate in the meeting or to obtain agenda information in large print format. Supporting documentation and staff reports furnished the Commission with this agenda are available for review in the Town Manager's Office.    Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Meeting of October 27, 2021 3 of 3   ITEM 4. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  UPDATE ON New Commissioner Staff Summary (Background) On October 19, 2021, Mayor Dickey appointed Bernie Hoenle to the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission for a term ending April 30, 2022.  Commissioner Hoenle is filling the seat vacated by Commissioner John McHugh.   Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/21/2021 09:12 AM Final Approval Date: 10/21/2021  ITEM 5. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  CONSIDERATION OF Approving the September 16, 2021, Meeting Minutes.   Staff Summary (Background) The intent of approving meeting minutes is to ensure an accurate account of the discussion and action that took place at the meeting for archival purposes. Approved minutes are placed on the Town's website and maintained as permanent records in compliance with state law. Attachments Meeting Minutes  Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/20/2021 11:58 AM Final Approval Date: 10/20/2021  TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 16, 2021            1.CALL TO ORDER – Chairman Craft    at 4:00 p.m.   2.ROLL CALL – Chairman Craft Present: John W. Craft, Jr., Chairman; Patrick Garman, Vice Chairman; Chad Bernick, Commissioner; Gerard Bisceglia, Commissioner; Mary Edman, Commissioner; Cynthia Magazine, Commissioner  Absent: John McHugh, Commissioner  Staff Present: Town Manager Grady Miller; Executive Assistant Angela Padgett-Espiritu  3.CALL TO THE PUBLIC Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.01(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 Commission, and (ii) is subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. The Commission 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 commissioners may (i) respond to criticism, (ii) ask staff to review a matter, or (iii) ask that the matter be placed on a future Commission agenda.   4.CONSIDERATION OF Approving the June 23, 2021, Meeting Minutes.      MOVED BY Commissioner Gerard Bisceglia, SECONDED BY Commissioner Cynthia Magazine to APPROVE the June 23, 2021, Meeting Minutes.   Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously   5.UPDATE ON Focus Group       Chair Craft reported that focus groups in support of the work will not happen this year mainly due to COVID. He said that they did receive a great deal of feedback from the two surveys that were conducted over the course of the last year from Vision Fountain Hills in support of our efforts.  Vision of Fountain Hills hopes to become much more engaged with the community on topics that are topical, as opposed to strategic and will stay tuned and hopefully continue.     6.REVIEW OF Rank Order Summaries for Signature Strategies and Tasks       Chair Craft reported that the rank order for the signature strategies and the supporting tasks (see attached document) have been identified.  He said they can begin to eliminate some of the strategies and tasks that are not timely or in terms of the priorities that do not fit the new plan.   He said the point is to get the new plan to where it's manageable and measurable.  He said, there are approximately 38 tasks that would need to be reduced to around 25 to 30 tasks. He said that Vice Chair Garman reached out to the commissioners individually, and asked them to rank order the current strategies and tasks.  He pointed out that the tasks highlighted (see attached document) received a very low score in the aggregate. Chair Craft requested input from the commission and a discussion ensued.   The Community Relations Manager is currently tasked with creating a citizen/community engagement process.  The Community Relations Manager sends publications to each household increasing awareness on how much is done with the town’s parks The financial sustainability of the new plan will be discussed at the next meeting.. Concerns with wording in signature strategy two (economic development) and supporting task could relate more to law and regulations – amend the wording and possibly have at the next meeting for approval. Concerns about tasks relating to schools being eliminated. Commission was informed that the Town currently has in place the below:  The Town holds a joint meeting with the school district governing board meetings once a year. The Student of the Month program, in which students are recognized at the council meetings. Fountain Hills Coalition, which includes town staff and school district members. Acknowledge recommendations and make some modifications to incorporate schools as part of the overall branding and promotion of the town. Chair Craft thanked everyone for the good discussion and suggestions.  He said we need to find a way to incorporate schools with recognizing some of the current challenges with doing so.     7.REVIEW OF Communication Plan for the Strategic Plan       Vice Chair Garman commented that he was honored to present the Communications Plan (see attached document) on behalf of Commissioner McHugh. He explained that the first step in developing a communications plan is to clearly define your audience. He said that different audiences respond best to different types of communication. He said that he proposed and Chair Craft agreed that from a communications perspective; it should have three distinct audiences:  The Town Council -  Because without a favorable vote by the town council, there will be no new strategic plan. 1. The Town Manager and the Town Staff - Because those are the people we are asking to do all the work that we think needs to be done.  Without their buy-in, little if anything gets done to implement the plan. 2. The community members, residents, business owners, and civic organizations – Because it is their town too 3. He said that the ultimate goal is to get the new plan approved and implemented and then asked the commission if there were any questions or concerns. Town Manager Miller commented that he thought this was good and will be helpful in formalizing the follow-up on a strategic plan and that he is trying to ensure that the outcomes that are desired actually get achieved.  He noted that it was mentioned in the Communications Plan, “The Town’s General Manager”, and it should read the "Town Manager".  A discussion ensued on items mentioned in the Communications Plan.  One item was for the commission to have quarterly meetings with the Town Manager and department directors for the purpose of monitoring the progress of the new Strategic Plan.  Town Manager Miller commented that once a month during a weekly meeting with the department directors, they discuss mastering the items contained in the Strategic Plan and making sure there are resources available when it comes time for budgeting.  He mentioned that this has not been done recently due to the lapsed status of the current plan.   Town Manager Miller mentioned that a scorecard of the plan's progress for the public to view on the town's website should be included in the Communications Plan. Another item mentioned was a Communications Liaison. Chair Craft commented that a liaison could take the lead in bringing information in and out because specific tasks will consume a lot of time.     8.UPDATE ON Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Work Schedule Through December 21, 2021        Chair Craft gave the commissioners an updated work schedule for the 2021 Strategic Plan for beginning with August 2021 forward (see attached document).  Chair Craft mentioned that it was for update purposes and did not need to go through each item listed.    9.REVIEW OF September 29, 2021, Meeting with Town Directors       It was discussed, and the commission agreed that no more than three commissioners should present the components of the proposed new strategic plan at the town's department director weekly meeting, to solicit feedback.   10.ADJOURNMENT    MOVED BY Commissioner Gerard Bisceglia, SECONDED BY Commissioner Cynthia Magazine to adjourn at 5:06 p.m.   Vote: 6 - 0 - Unanimously     STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION ____________________________ John W. Craft, Jr., Chairman             ATTEST AND PREPARED BY: ______________________________  Angela 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 Fountain Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission in the Town Hall Council Chambers on the  16 day of September, 2021. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 27 day of October, 2021.                                                                                         _________________________________                                                                                          Angela Espiritu, Executive Assistant ITEM 6. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OF Communications and Monitoring Plan Staff Summary (Background) The Commission will be reviewing and may take action on the revised Communications and Monitoring Plan. Attachments Revised Communication and Monitoring Plan  Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/21/2021 11:22 AM Final Approval Date: 10/21/2021  Page 1 of 2 MONITORING AND COMMUNICATION PLAN Preamble A strategic plan has no value in and of itself. A strategic plan is a working document. It is only as good as the ongoing efforts of the people who created it and the people who approved it and, ultimately, the people who are tasked with doing all the work our plan suggests being done. Upon approval of the 2021 Strategic Plan by the Mayor and Council, the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (SPAC) will refocus its efforts in support of a smooth rollout and community outreach. Communications Strategy Establish collaborative communication channels by creating strong working relationships with the Town Council, Town Staff and Fountain Hills communities. Tasks • No later than early 2022, SPAC will appoint one of its members to become its Communications Liaison. The Communications Liaison will work with the Town Staff and local media to keep the community updated on matters concerning the plan’s implementation and progress. • A copy of the 2021 Five-Year Strategic Plan for the Town of Fountain Hills will be placed on the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission page at the Town’s website - www.fh.az.gov. • SPAC will support outreach to the general community through FHTimes articles and interaction with local citizen groups and organizations as needed. Monitoring Strategy SPAC will remain directly involved in monitoring the Town’s implementation efforts and their impact on the strategic priorities as established in the Plan. Tasks • SPAC will hold quarterly follow-up meetings with the Town Manager and Department Heads during the last week of each fiscal quarter. The purpose of those meetings is to monitor progress on the implementation of all elements of the strategic plan and to provide ample time for Q & A by all participants. Page 2 of 2 • The Town Council will receive a written executive summary of all topics covered in each quarterly meeting attended by the Town Staff and SPAC. • SPAC will develop a Scorecard for documenting both progress and issues related to the Tasks established in the 2021 Plan. The Scorecard will be updated no less than twice annually. The data and information collected will be valuable for the 5-year update/revisions of the Plan at its midpoint. The Scorecard will be posted on the Town’s website as well. Strategic Plan 2021 – Scorecard (Sample format) Tasks Ownership Complexity Priority (A,B, C) Start date Progress Task #1 _______________________________________________________________________ Task #2 _______________________________________________________________________ Task #3 _______________________________________________________________________ “ “ ______________________________________________________________________ “ “ ______________________________________________________________________ ITEM 7. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OF Updated Signature Strategies and Supporting Tasks Staff Summary (Background) The commission will review and may take action on the updated signature strategies and supporting tasks as it pertains to the new 2021 Strategic Plan. Attachments Unified SPAC Strategic Plan Draft  Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/21/2021 12:07 PM Final Approval Date: 10/21/2021  1 Fountains Hills Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Strategic Plan 2022 Overview In Fountain Hills neighbors share a commitment to community that makes small town life so appealing, without losing big city advantages. Strategic Plan Focus: The Strategic Plan focuses on enhancing Fountain Hill's appeal as a traditional small town in the orbit of a large urban environment by honoring traditional values, environmental uniqueness, stability, sustainability, and flexibility in preparing for the future. This is evident in Fountain Hill's Key Organizational Goals which aim to: improve public areas including infrastructure and Town facilities; enhance public safety and the overall quality of life, promote economic development, and ensure the Town’s financial stability. Strategic Priorities: 1. Economic Development 2. Finances 3. Health, Wellness, and Safety. 4. Infrastructure 2 Strategic Priority (SP): Targeted collaborative economic development. Preamble: An essential element of a thriving community is its economy. Fountain Hills is a small, active community whose long-term sustainability requires an effective targeted economic development plan. Economic development has become a hotly debated topic and a much sought-after goal in towns across America. Industrial recruitment and reliance on outside funding are giving way to locally based finance and entrepreneurial activity. Fountain Hills needs to take advantage of its unique local resources and leadership to advance its own successful local economy in a way that continues to appeal to its residents and business community. Presently, the local chamber of commerce and the Town actively work to support new and existing business growth. The following strategies and their supporting tasks attempt to address the opportunity of establishing a more unified and focused business development effort. Our commission interviewed Town leadership, Chamber of Commerce, Fountain Hills Sanitary District and Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association. We noted a recurring theme that ‘strength-in-numbers’ was important when pursuing opportunities. Hence, this strategic priority focuses on the need for local collaboration. 1. Signature Strategy (SS) – Retain existing businesses and attract new ones. Rationale: Existing businesses are the foundation of any economic growth strategy. By building on what already exists, cities can support current businesses and create a strong foundation. Attracting new businesses is often most effective when the effort is tailored to the industries compatible with local economic, space, environmental, and demographic characteristics. A) Supporting Task (ST) – Develop and promote an effective brand image that emphasizes Fountain Hills’ livability, highly rated school district, healthfulness, and safety to prospective businesses and residents. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: Yes B) Supporting Task (ST) - Develop industry-specific action plans for retaining existing businesses and recruiting new ones for the following sectors: 1) Health and wellness, 2) Professional services, and 3) S.T.E.M. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 5 Collaboration potential: Yes 3 C) Supporting Task (ST) – Develop and maintain an economic development webpage and business metrics database as part of its existing Town website. Rationale: The creation of an economic development webpage would function as a one stop shop to help new and existing business owners with business startup, or expansion. This webpage would include a step-by-step guide to starting, or expanding a business in Fountain Hills, links to important contacts, forms, and resources from outside of the community; such as loan programs from the U.S. Small Business Administration or community development financial institutions or technical assistance from a regional small business development center such as the Maricopa Small Business Development Center as well as the BizHub incubator. A business metrics database would track the overall business health of the community and monitor the effectiveness of economic development initiatives. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes D) Supporting Task (ST) – Streamline the building permitting process in high priority locations. Review existing permit and approval processes, and give businesses investing in downtown and other priority infill locations an expedited permit process to shorten the timeline and reduce development costs. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 5 Collaboration potential: N/A 2. Signature Strategy (SS) – Lead the formation of collaborative economic development groups. Rationale: The Commission believes that synergy can be achieved if like-minded groups collaborate to strengthen our economic progress. The groups can draw members from municipal governments, regional economic development organizations, nonprofit organizations seeking to help communities, and other stakeholders. A) Supporting Task (ST) – Coordinate meetings between the Fountain Hills Town Government, Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce, and Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation. The meetings will occur semi-annually to discuss the local expansion of business and tourism opportunities. Each party brings unique skills, contacts, and compatible goals to not only recruit business relocation to this area but also support their transition and long-term success. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes 4 B) Supporting Task (ST) – Form a business professional advisory group. Ongoing collaboration between the public and private sectors is an important component of economic development. To encourage collaboration, form a business professional advisory group with volunteers from the public and private sectors to discuss how the town could better facilitate economic development. Volunteers from the community could include property owners, developers, school system employees or student interns, and retired governmental or business executives with particular experience in health, professional and technical services. Timeline: <1yrs Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: Yes 5 Strategic Priority (SP): Promote the long-term financial sustainability of Town infrastructure, environmental and social resources. Preamble: The Commission recommends the following five guiding principles for fiduciary responsibility that should be embraced by the Town of Fountain Hills: 1) Live within your means 2) Employ cost recovery when setting fees for "individualized" services 3) Use reserves only for one-time expenditures or temporary stop-gap measures 4) Study contracting out services before attempting to do in-house. 5) Emphasize transparency. 1. Signature Strategy (SS) – Increase transparency and communication with the public regarding continuous monitoring and internal controls of Town finances. Rationale: Transparency leads to trust and trust leads to a community that is confident in providing resources to the Town government to solve short and long term public issues on their behalf. A) Supporting Task (ST) - Hold public meetings twice a year, separate from council meetings, to review the Town’s financial health with the public. Timeline: <1yrs Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: N/A B) Supporting Task (ST) – Conduct a regularly occurring community survey in order to track satisfaction levels over time on the provision of Town services. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: Yes 2. Signature Strategy (SS) – Promote the long-term financial health and stability of the Town as responsible and accountable stewards of the community’s fiscal resources. Rationale: The annual budget serves as the Town’s financial plan. The budget is a policy document that provides direction and priorities for the resources needed to deliver community services. A) Supporting Task (ST) - Produce a feasibility study for the Town Council evaluating a two-year budget cycle. Rationale: A two year budgeting cycle has been shown to be a cost and time saving process. It also may lead to better long term planning than annual budgeting by allowing more time for program review and evaluation. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: N/A B) Supporting Task (ST) - Produce and publish a five-year financial plan that incorporates fiscally responsible revenue and expenditure forecasts. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: N/A 6 C) Supporting Task (ST) - Conduct a Facilities Reserve Study that evaluates funding strategies for the repair and/or replacement of existing facilities and infrastructure. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: N/A D) Supporting Task (ST) – The Town will establish a permanent role for an experienced grant researcher and writer. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: N/A 3. Signature Strategy (SS) – Review the provision of governmental services to identify opportunities for increased efficiency and economies of scale. Rationale: Balancing the Town’s use of full services and contracted services promotes both stability and flexibility. A) Supporting Task (ST) - Conduct a feasibility analysis of government services provided by the Town evaluating the potential to contract for services where increased efficiency and flexibility can be achieved. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 4 Collaboration potential: N/A B) Supporting Task (ST) - Promote staff efficiency by increasing the public’s access to self-service options. Examples include kiosks and online services that improve organization, accommodation, payment options, accessibility, and security. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes 7 Strategic Priority (SP): Improve the public health, well-being, and safety of our town. Preamble: We focused on identifying Signature Strategies and Supportive Tasks we thought were most likely to help Fountain Hills leaders realize the goal of improving the public health, well-being, and safety of our community. In doing so, we took into consideration: the Town’s economic realities; community input from a variety of sources; the timeline covered by the new strategic plan; relevant trends and future projections; and the need for tasks that are manageable, attainable and measurable. 1. Signature Strategy (SS) - Enhance the natural and built environment of Fountain Hills to improve the public health, well-being, and safety of the community. Rationale: While this strategy is broad in scope, it can be easily supported by a number of specific, high priority tasks that fit within the Town’s current constraints regarding both human and financial resources. A) Supporting Task (ST) - Promote, expand, and connect open space and recreational facilities to create safe opportunities for physical activities. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes B) Supporting Task (ST) - Work directly with local environmental organizations to guide and synchronize their efforts in strengthening our community’s connection with its natural surroundings. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes C) Supporting Task (ST) - Incorporate public health, well-being, and safety in all Fountain Hills Government policies. Timeline: <1yrs to review current policies, then ongoing for any policy changes or new policies. Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: N/A D) Supporting Task (ST) - Create and publicize an Environmental Plan for Fountain Hills. Timeline: <1yrs Complexity: 4 Collaboration potential: Yes 8 2. Signature Strategy (SS) - Make Fountain Hills a community focused on public health, well-being, and safety. Rationale: While this strategy is broad in scope, it can be easily supported by specific, high priority tasks that fit within the Town’s current constraints regarding both human and financial resources. A) Supporting Task (ST) - Support the expansion of preventive health and wellness access within the Fountain Hills community. Timeline: <1yrs to assess, then ongoing as opportunities are addressed. Complexity: 2 Collaboration potential: Yes B) Supporting Task (ST) - Create awareness of Fountain Hills as a community focused on public health, well-being, and safety. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes 9 Strategic Priority (SP): Maintain current infrastructure while preparing the town for emerging infrastructure trends that increase public safety and quality of life. Preamble: Fountain Hills infrastructure plays a vital role in the quality of life for our citizens and we must maintain and prepare it for the future. Fountain Hills infrastructure must be capable of supporting our town’s economy, while holding public safety and quality of life as priorities. There are generally many categories of infrastructure to consider, but focusing solely on Fountain Hills, we identified four that are of particular interest to our town’s residents and elected leadership. This iteration of the Fountain Hills strategic plan will deal with Broadband, Public Parks, Roads, and Energy infrastructure areas. 1. Signature Strategy (SS) – Develop an investment plan and schedule to maintain/bring FH’s streets, medians, buildings, and parks to established standards. Rationale: Infrastructure planning, funding, and execution information should be available, clearly articulated, and transparently handled by Fountain Hills public agencies. A) Supporting Task (ST) - Develop a detailed Infrastructure Condition Report with a scoring mechanism for evaluating and reporting the functionality, appearance, and upkeep of the Town’s fixed assets. The report will be updated annually, reviewed by the town council, and available to town citizens. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 5 Collaboration potential: N/A 2. Signature Strategy (SS) – Support local Broadband strategic buildouts and deployment efforts while ensuring the preservation of conduit and right of way for future technologies. Rationale: Broadband, a generic term for high-speed internet access, enables students of all ages to learn online and businesses to reach customers and co- workers; facilitates electronic and verbal communications; provides access to healthcare and job openings; and can be the deciding factor of where a company chooses to expand. A) Supporting Task (ST) – Make co-location of broadband a requirement with existing infrastructure planning as a condition of permit use or where public funding is provided. This includes above-ground infrastructure and the codification of “dig once” policies where service providers install broadband conduit as other infrastructure is installed. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: N/A 10 B) Supporting Task (ST) - Enact and enforce codes and standards to ensure that utility poles and other structures that support 4G/5G and future telecommunications equipment are structurally sound, reliable, and resilient. Timeline: <3yrs Complexity: 4 Collaboration potential: N/A 3. Signature Strategy (SS) – Increase the ease and safety of multi-use aspects of Fountain Hills roads. Rationale: A forward looking road strategy is essential to everyday living in Fountain Hills, providing access to jobs, schools, shopping, healthcare, wellness, and other services while enabling sustainable mobility options such as pedestrian and biking access. A) Supporting Task (ST) - The Fountain Hills Town Council Subcommittee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety will identify roads where lack of a safe and interconnected sidewalk system increases risk to pedestrians and produce a plan and schedule to remedy. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes B) Supporting Task (ST) - Develop a comprehensive bicycle master plan, in combination with dedicated citizen and organizational support. A successful plan will focus on developing a seamless cycling network that emphasizes short trip distances, multi-modal trips, and is complemented by encouragement, education, and enforcement programs to increase usage. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes 4. Signature Strategy (SS) – Partner with other government agencies and outside entities e.g. private companies, nonprofit organizations, and volunteer groups, to evaluate and report on the health of the Fountain Hills parks and its asset maintenance/management system. Rationale: Parks support economic prosperity and build thriving, healthy, resilient communities. Besides providing recreational opportunities and green space for all ages, parks provide a suite of ancillary benefits such as higher property values, protection, and improvements to drinking water sources, fewer urban heat islands, and stormwater management. A) Supporting Task (ST) – Complete a park metric scoring analysis using a nationally recognized system to benchmark the Fountain Hills town park system. Timeline: <2yrs Complexity: 3 Collaboration potential: Yes ITEM 8. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  REVIEW OF Updated SWOT Analysis Staff Summary (Background) The Commission will be reviewing the revised and updated Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis as it pertains to the 2021 Strategic Plan.   Attachments Draft SWOT Edited Version  Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/21/2021 12:11 PM Final Approval Date: 10/21/2021  DRAFT SWOT 10.17.21 Strengths • Recent significant increase in apartment construction • Upscale community image • Public schools highly rated • Skilled and educated workers 30% Bachelors, 19.4% Graduate Degree (1) • Commitment to sustainable development – new construction must maintain views and environment • Environmental setting – where the desert meets the mountains • Violent crime rate -48% lower than national average • Property crime rate – 49% lower than national average • Numerous special events • Talented, productive Town staff • Large, productive volunteer workforce at all levels: 14,000 volunteer hours (800 volunteers) in 2019; cost savings $346,000. • Available commercial retail space • Abundant amenities including growing presence of health and wellness opportunities • Easy access to Scottsdale and Sky Harbor Airport • International Dark Skies designation • Partnership with adjacent Native American Reservations Weaknesses • Revenue/Fiscal sustainability/cost control vs. real need • On-going opposition to property tax • Aging infrastructure; repairs falling behind • Available retail space far exceeds the US average • Available retail spaces need pricey modifications • Road maintenance falling behind recommendations/need • Image is seen as a retirement community; deterrent for young families • School enrollment declining despite state high ratings. • Residents want more events, especially for children • Insufficient activities for children outside of school • Housing affordability/recent escalation in housing prices (new and older) • Demographic imbalance. 55-74 is the largest age group; 54.4% of population is over 50. • Land locked; population growth therefore limited (except state trust land). • Lack of industrial space to attract large employers. • Some landlords unwilling to rent out empty space to prospective businesses; using empty spaces as tax write-offs. • Residents uninformed re our technological capabilities. • Lack of environmental focus Opportunities • Working age residents are highly educated with 40% of ages 25-64 holding Bachelors Degrees or higher • Working residents generally must outflow (commute) for work. Businesses need educated work force; Town has a large pool to entice to stay in community. • Technological capabilities are marketable to businesses • Rebrand the Town: away from “retirement community” to environmental stewardship and/or health and wellness • Increasing interest in environmental initiatives • Growing presence of health and wellness businesses • Proposed International Dark Skies Discovery Center; huge draw into community for visitors (another environmental initiative) • California migration can be enticed by views, office space and educated work force, as well as a Town focus on health/wellness/environmental programs. • Strategic partnerships with ASU/NAU • Shea/Target corridor redesign/redevelopment • Future technology down Avenue of the Fountains • Continue to encourage increasing the rental market • Continue reworking Town website to assist with rebranding and reputation management • Address absentee landlord/tax write-off issue • With recent surge in housing development, continue to include State Trust Land in “back pocket”. Threats • Continuing challenges with sustainable revenue. • Opportunities to improve revenue increasingly limited by state • Residents defeated property tax option three times in past • Some (1/4) residents are outside of workforce (over 65) and may not have as much disposable income to feed the local economy. • Population surge from CA driving up home prices. • Can recent population growth be met by current Town budget? • Lack of current attractive Town branding (other than “retirement community”). • Town website does not offer attractive options for relocation of business or family. • School population declining despite high marks/realtor discouragement • Retail dependence on seasonal residents • Economic downturn can more adversely impact Fountain Hills since it is dependent on outflow workers to feed the local economy. • Timely infrastructure maintenance inhibited by lack of sustainable revenue source • Vacant buildings/absentee landlords create town blight. ITEM 9. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  REVIEW OF Alignment Analysis - Proposed Strategic Priorities and SWOT Staff Summary (Background) The commission will be reviewing the alignment analysis and its relation to the proposed strategic priorities and SWOT. Attachments SWOT and SPs 2020-2025  Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/21/2021 12:23 PM Final Approval Date: 10/21/2021  Fountain hills DRAFT Strategic Plan, 2020-2025 Strategic Priorities Aligned with Revised SWOT analysis, with emphasis on Threats and Weaknesses being addressed October 2021 FINANCE Weakness/Threats: Revenue/fiscal sustainability *..Promote long term financial health and stability by: * Producing a feasibility study for the Town Council to evaluate a two-year budget cycle * Producing a five-year financial plan that incorporates fiscally responsible revenue and expenditure forecasts * Conducting a facilities reserve fund study that provides funding strategies for the repair, replacement of existing facilities and infrastructure * Establishing a grant researcher/writer position as a permanent function * Increase transparency and public communication of town finances by: * Conducting twice-yearly public meetings to review the Town’s financial health with the public and demonstrating continuous monitoring and internal controls of Town’s finances * Administering a regularly occurring satisfaction survey to understand satisfaction re Town services * Review the provision of governmental services by: *..Identifying opportunities for increased efficiency and economies of scale * Conducting an analysis of government services for opportunities to achieve efficiency and flexibility through additional outsourcing * Increase public access to self-service options that improve payment methods, access and security. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Weaknesses/Threats: Retail space greatly outpaces what residents can support; brand image is “retirement community”; lack of industrial space to attract large employers; retail dependence on seasonal residents * Identify Economic Development as a major strategy to support financial stability * Attract businesses compatible with FH economic, space, environment and demographics * Develop a Town brand image that appeals to the “right” businesses * Create and maintain an economic development website, a one-stop-shop to help businesses * Streamline the permitting process * Form an economic development coalition between the Town, Chamber of Commerce, and Yavapai Nation, to expand business/tourism opportunities * Create an Economic Development Task Force, encourage ongoing collaboration between public and private town sectors using volunteers from the schools, businesses, property owners, developers, retired executives PUBLIC HEALTH, WELL-BEING, AND SAFETY Weaknesses/threats: Retirement Image not a draw; Residents want more connection to environment and open space; more activities for children * Create awareness of Fountain Hills as a community focused on public health, well-being, and safety (aka “branding”). * Create and publicize a Town Environmental Plan * Promote, expand, and connect open space and recreational facilities to create safe opportunities for physical activities/more activities for children * Work with local environmental organizations to guide and synchronize their efforts in strengthening the community’s connection with its natural surrounding * Centralize information to manage unexpected occurrences such as fire, flood, and storms; publicize such information to residents on a regular basis * Support the new Master Plan for parks and recreation, including new programs for children * Promote awareness of vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle rights to help reduce conflicts and accidents INFRASTRUCTURE, (Public Parks, Roads, and Broadband) Weaknesses/Threats: Aging infrastructure falling behind; road maintenance far short of recommendations; residents uninformed re our technological capabilities * Develop a detailed infrastructure condition report with a scoring mechanism for evaluating and reporting the functionality, appearance and upkeep of the Town’s fixed assets. * Update condition report annually and make available to Town citizens * Identify roads where lack of a safe and interconnected sidewalk system increases risk to pedestrians * Produce a corrective action plan for roads including a remedy schedule * Support local Broadband strategic build-outs while ensuring the preservation of conduit and right-of-way for future technologies * Make co-location of broadband a requirement with existing or new infrastructure planning a condition of permit use or where public funding is provided * Enact and enforce codes and standards to ensure utility poles and other 4G/5G structures and future telecommunications equipment are structurally sound, reliable, resilient MISSING * Affordable housing opportunities * Go “after” absentee landlords re blight and poor town image that results * Advertising re the A+ state rating given to our schools, particularly reaching realtors ITEM 10. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT    Meeting Date: 10/27/2021 Meeting Type: Strategic Planning Advisory Commission Agenda Type: Submitting Department: Administration Prepared by: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Staff Contact Information: Angela Padgett-Espiritu, Executive Assistant to Manager, Mayor/Council Request to Strategic Planning Advisory Commission (Agenda Language):  REVIEW OF Infrastructure Appendix Staff Summary (Background) The commission will review the infrastructure appendix information relating to the town's technical infrastructure and future needs. Attachments Infrastructure Appendix Revised 10162021  Form Review Form Started By: Angela Padgett-Espiritu Started On: 10/21/2021 12:26 PM Final Approval Date: 10/21/2021  October 2021 Fountain Hills Infrastructure Appendix Technical Infrastructure: The everyday world is becoming more connected through electronic means. Homes are the new school rooms, school rooms may be a shelter or pandemic hospital bed, phones track who we’ve come into contact with, commuters stay home, and AC units run longer all putting greater strains on limited or slow scaling resources. Our digital world isn’t fading anytime soon. New productivity, communication, and intelligent services enable us to do more in ways that were simply unimaginable a generation ago. Fountain Hills’ has as its mission to provide superior public services that provide for the safety and well-being of the community, participation in this new era of our connected world requires reliable high-speed Internet services as well as sustainable utilities for the town. Challenges to the Mission: Fountain Hills is a small market to big providers. Monetary incentive (value proposition) needs to be identified and crafted to make an investment attractive to these suppliers. The master planned community was initially expected to grow to a population of around 70,000. As of 2010, the town had 22,489 residents and is expected to grow to a population of 30,000 to 35,000. An additional challenge to infrastructure development is the relative density of the population. Fountain Hills has one of the lowest density ratios in the valley, being just shy of two people per acre. This means each liner foot of electrical wire, plumbing, and data cable services fewer residents than in other parts of the valley. In short, it costs more in Fountain Hills to provide service to 22,000 people than other parts of the valley. The relative density ratio not only makes the initial service connection more costly but the maintenance costs are also relatively higher per capita. The result is that the densest areas of a community get early connections to services while also seeing more investment in maintenance and upgrades than low density / last mile residents. This pattern can be demonstrated over the past century looking at adoption rates of wired vs. wireless services to the consumer. For example, after 25 years, electricity and cable TV didn’t climb above 70 percent. In contrast, within 25 years the country achieved near universal adoption of radio and color television, both which involved wireless technology. More recently, the pace of adoption for cellphones neared 100 percent in about 14 years and was accomplished in just 8 for smart phones. Broadband adoption not only lags both of these technologies, but it slower than the adoption of radio. This history of wired technology adoption does not bode well for laying fiber optic cable to the distant reaches of our community. Government grants are available to help with community broadband initiatives but they are largely based on FCC reporting of broadband connectivity for counties across the USA. Currently, the FCC records that 97% of residents have access to broadband in Maricopa county. It does not factor in reliability or user experience. With residents teaching and working from home a reliable connection to internet resources is a necessity. High speed availability is also essential to future economic development. There are three categories to explore, wired broadband, WIFI and modern satellite technologies. While the town has on average faster download rates than the state average, many neighborhoods are under serviced and regularly experience service quality issues. Fountain Hills is exploring ways to improve broadband services within the community, while these services are being explored residents can look to Elon Musks’ Startlink service is which soon to exit its beta test program. Starlink satellite service could prove to be a solution for many town residents. In 2021 SpaceX’s Starlink service should come on line around $99/mo for services 50-150Mb/s with 20-40ms latencies. This is in line with speeds provided by the average cable provider or latest cell phone data networks. October 2021 “DSL infrastructure and Fiber make up the most widely available wired broadband networks in Fountain Hills, featuring 98.86 and 38.90 percent network reach within city limits. Even considering coaxial cable or DSL networks are frequently cheaper, fiber networks are more well-suited to send digital data, and deliver overall faster speeds. Owing to the widespread availability of Fiber across Fountain Hills neighborhoods, the city's average download rate (151.39 Mbps) is 32.48 percent faster than the state average (currently 102.22 Mbps). However, the network speed at a subscriber address may change along with the quality of the "last mile" connection.” – Broadbandnow.com/Arizona/Fountain-Hills Physical Infrastructure & Vacancies Residents have commented about the large number of office/retail vacancies around town as well as challenges getting some landlords to rent retail spaces. Anecdotes captured while talking with local business owners revealed a similar theme. Landlords opted to use vacant properties as a write-off or asked for rental rates in line with North Scottsdale markets. This priced out some new businesses looking to start in our community. There is more to the story to understand vacancies around town. Businesses will often do studies to see a population base within 3-5 miles of their operation and use national averages to calculate the number of likely consumers for the service. For example, if a town has 30,000 people in a 3-mile radius of a store front, it is possible to review what share of the population base may be interested in the business. If the business idea was a martial arts studio, only 1% of the population is interested in martial arts, meaning the potential customer base is 300 residents. A restaurant might have a potential market share of 2,400 residents divided by the number of competing restaurants within the potential market share radius. These competing forces within a market share radius and residents’ seasonality greatly impact what the town can sustain. Fountain Hills has an abundance of space available for retail usage, currently 2.3 million square feet of it. Leading demographics include a median household income of $80,464 and 55.1% educational attainment of an Associate degree or higher. October 2021 According to data captured by Statistica, in 2018 retail space in the USA is, on average, 23.5 square feet per person. More affluent neighborhoods can support more retail space per capita, however the level of fidelity in the data was not available to identify a community in line with Fountain Hills. The population of Fountain Hills based on the V2019 estimates shows that 25,200 people call Fountain Hills their home. Using the number of residents, we can calculate the square feet of retail space the town would support on average as 592,200sq ft (25,200 x 23.5= 592,200). This seems to indicate the town has roughly an excess of 1.7 million square feet of retail space. These are of course estimates based on averages. It is probable to assume under a more micro lens that the average income and disposable income of a town would indicate it can support more retail space per capita. However, it is a data point to keep in mind as store fronts receive building permits for more retail spaces. The data suggest local government cannot develop business and use of retail space beyond what the population can sustain.