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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPAC.2013.0925.Minutes .` TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING September 25, 2013 AGENDA ITEM#1—CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Nick DePorter called the meeting to order in Council Chambers at Town Hall at 5:00 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#2—ROLL CALL The following members of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission were present for roll call: Vice Chair Nick DePorter and Commissioners Audra Koester Thomas, Peter Bordow, Nancy Ordowski, and Dana Saar. Chair Alan Magazine was excused. Commissioner Alice Brovan was absent. Youth Commissioner Kate Domin was present. Also present were Town Manager Ken Buchanan and Recording Secretary Shaunna Williams. AGENDA ITEM#3—CALL TO THE PUBLIC No one appeared at the call to the public. AGENDA ITEM#4— CONSIDERATION OF APPROVING AUGUST 21,2013 MEETING MINUTES Commissioner Bordow MOVED to approve the August 21, 2013 meeting minutes and Commissioner Ordowski SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present. AGENDA ITEM#5—TOWN MANAGER'S UPDATE a. RFP for Economic Development Specialist - Mr. Buchanan stated that three responses to the RFP were received, all of which were considered non-responsive and therefore rejected. He indicated that the Town is now looking for an hourly, part-time time person who would report 'at will' to the Town Manager. In responding to questions, Mr. Buchanan stated that he anticipates the hiring process will take approximately six weeks and that the position will be posted on the Town website. AGENDA ITEM#6—PRESENTATION BY MARK MCDERMOTT REGARDING THE VISITORS BUREAU'S WEBSITE STRATEGY Agenda item tabled. Based on a request from the Commission, Mr. Buchanan agreed to invite the Chamber to a SPAC meeting to discuss its current activities. AGENDA ITEM#7—DISCUSSION REGARDING PRIORITIZATION OF SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MATRIX OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN Vice Chair DePorter relayed the suggestion of Chair Magazine that in order to choose the highest priority objectives SPAC might consider using a few criteria for selection, such as biggest bang for the buck; overall impact on economic development in the shortest amount of time; ability to identify individuals or organizations Page 1 of 4 F willing and able to take on a project; most visible to the public; least contentious within the community; and low financial cost. • Vice Chair DePorter noted that Chair Magazine has suggested the following high priority short term objectives: (1)Identify companies with plans to expand; (2)Identify companies at risk of leaving/downsizing/provide help; (3) Identify and review Town regulations that are onerous for development efforts;(4)Maintain downtown aesthetics; and(5)Encourage infill development and redevelopment within downtown. Vice Chair DePorter stated that Chair Magazine has also recommended a high priority short term objective that is not in the matrix, i.e., identify three to five knowledgeable individuals who can meet with prospects to usher them around town, introduce them to key stakeholders, answer their questions and make the"pitch". Discussion ensued regarding the number of inquiries the Town receives from prospective businesses; creating a list of prospective businesses based on the targeted industry sectors identified in the Economic Development Plan; "prerequisites"necessary to outreach to prospective businesses; and the possibility of utilizing volunteers to create collateral outreach materials. Following discussion,Commissioner Bordow MOVED that the following short term objectives of the Economic Development Matrix be recognized as key priorities: Business Attraction A. Short Term Objectives: 1. Develop an Inventory of Existing Office Space 4. Establish as Economic Development presence on the Website 5. Develop collateral materials and messaging about Fountain Hills Business Expansion and Retention A. Short Term Objectives: 1. Identify companies with plans to expand C11 2. Identify companies at risk of leaving/downsizing/provide help Commissioner Koester Thomas SECONDED the motion,which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present. AGENDA ITEM#8—DISCUSSION REGARDING THE ANNUAL REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN Vice Chair DePorter stated that Chair Magazine forwarded suggested changes, edits, and rewrites(copy attached). Commissioner Koester Thomas stated that the changes suggested by Chair Magazine(specific to the date the plan was authored)could be accomplished with a preamble and footnotes to the plan, while maintaining the narrative of the plan;that those suggested edits could be handled offline and be brought back to the Commission with tracked changes for approval at the next SPAC meeting. Vice Chair DePorter stated that Chair Magazine also recommended emphasizing a wide variety of recreational opportunities for youth. Commissioner Koester Thomas suggested that Chair Magazine offer exact text edits. She stated that she would be pleased to assist inasmuch as she maintains the original file. Vice Chair DePorter called for any substantive changes to the Strategic Plan and none were offered. Vice Chair DePorter read from Chair Magazine's communication as follows: cart' Page 2 of 4 "Finally, I have met individually with nearly all Council members. It has surprised me that several believe 111) that the Plan should be more specific in its recommendations and action items. One person recommended that within the Plan 3-5 items be offered as priorities for the coming year.That does not infer that all "Values"and"Strategic Directions"aren't important. This is a 5 year plan and clearly the Town doesn't have the resources(staff and budget)to tackle all of it at once—especially given the many tasks delineated in the Economic Development Plan that I suspect will find its way into the"Economic Vitality"section of the 2010 Plan update. "This is intended as food for thought. It is my hope that it will generate some discussion." Commissioner Koester Thomas noted that SPAC's Annual Strategic Planning Process includes recommending priorities that Council should consider. She pointed out that the Strategic Plan is not a five-year plan, but instead a long-term, visionary plan and that SPAC is tasked with considering an update of the plan every five years. Commissioner Saar pointed out the importance of reporting understandable performance metrics in order to give the public information about progress toward the Key Performance Questions noted in the plan(outcomes). Discussion ensued about utilization of qualitative as opposed to quantitative performance measurements; managing expectations in terms of timelines for achievement, while still reporting on incremental progress toward a visionary plan; and the importance of providing reports to allow the community to feel good about what we are accomplishing. Youth Commissioner Domin pointed out the importance of providing updates to the Town's citizens, even if progress cannot be quantified. AGENDA ITEM#9—DISCUSSION REGARDING SUGGESTIONS FOR SPAC'S ANNUAL WORK CPLAN Chair DePorter stated that the annual work plan could refer back to the short term priorities established today in Agenda Item#7. Mr. Buchanan stated neither he nor the Mayor have suggestions to offer at this time relative to SPAC's annual work plan. In order to understand what we can do, based on the organization we have today, he reviewed the state of the Town in terms of reduced budget and staff. He stated that community expectations have remained constant. He also noted that the Council gave SPAC the responsibility of addressing the ED Plan and suggested focusing on the short-term priorities. In order for SPAC to know more about the Town's current organization, Mr. Buchanan proposed bringing department heads to a SPAC meeting to talk about their respective budgets, staff, and responsibilities. Commissioner Ordowski suggested utilizing volunteers to start working on short term priorities. Mr. Buchanan pointed out that the Town has a volunteer coordinator who is responsible for locating and utilizing volunteers. He stated that he welcomed assistance on the priorities, while keeping in mind organizational realities. Commissioner Koester Thomas recommended that Chair Magazine and Mr. Buchanan work closely together each month to develop SPAC's agenda in order to fully utilize SPAC. Vice Chair DePorter suggested that Commissioner Koester Thomas' recommendation be accepted and that the monthly agenda developed by Chair Magazine and Mr. Buchanan be considered SPAC's work plan. Page 3 of 4 4- AGENDA ITEM#10—SCHEDULE UPCOMING MEETINGS Ms. Williams announced that a SPAC meeting is currently scheduled on October 23,2013 at 5:00 p.m. Ms. Williams was tasked with scheduling SPAC's annual joint meeting with the Town Council sometime during the month of November 2013. An additional SPAC meeting was scheduled on December 4, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. AGENDA ITEM#11 —ADJOURN Commissioner Koester Thomas MOVED to adjourn at 6:22 p.m. and Commissioner Bordow SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present. Shaunna Williams, Recording Secretary Page 4 of 4 4 Strategic Plan 2010 As Revised January, 20132 Suggested changes, edits, rewrites Pg. 7 Foundations for Success:Financial Sustainability Line 5: change sales tax to 8.9% Pg. 8 • I believe the state deficit has been eliminated • Para#3 might update the current fiscal picture eg. better than forcasted sales tax receipts. But overall impact on services etc. remains troubling • Para 4 indicate that non essential services HAVE been eliminated • Para 5 I believe the Council has done what it can re review and recommendations re a financing structure and policies.(?) Pg. 14 Economic Vitality • Para 1 line 7 The state's decrease in financial support isn't"imminent"anymore. • Line 7 "will require" should be "continues to require" • Para 2 reference the Council approved Economic Development Plan • Para 3 or somewhere (this may be like touching the 3rd rail!! Explore ways to have winter visitors pay their fair share for services rendered eg. fire,police 110 Pg. 15 Strategic Directions • Reference the matrix in the Economic Development Plan (place in appendix?) Key Performance Questions • Reword: "Has progress been made in implementing the recommendations of the Economic Development Plan? Pg. 19 • P4" ...or a health related service cluster(as envisioned in the Economic Development Plan)" Pg20 Recreational Opportunities And Amenities Why is this important? • "...wide variety of recreational opportunities for all ages (but especially for our youth) Lack of recreational opportunities for youth is a constant complaint from parents. It may have played some role in the closing of an elementary school. I think it should be emphasized. Finally, I have met individually with nearly all Council members. It has surprised me that several believe that the Plan should be more specific in its recommendations • and action items. One person recommended that within the Plan 3-5 items be offered as priorities for the coming year. That does not infer that all "Values"and"Strategic Directions" aren't important. This is a 5 year plan and clearly the Town doesn't have the resources (staff and budget)to tackle all of it at once—especially given the many tasks delineated in the Economic Development Plan that I suspect will find its way into the "Economic Vitality" section of the 2010 Plan update. This is intended as food for thought. It is my hope that it will generate some discussion.