HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPAC.2013.0522.Minute TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS
MINUTES OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS
STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING
May 22,2013
AGENDA ITEM#1 —CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chair Audra Koester Thomas called the meeting to order in Council Chambers at Town Hall at 4:10 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM#2—ROLL CALL
The following members of the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission were present for roll call: Vice Chair
Audra Koester Thomas and Commissioners Peter Bordow, Curt Dunham and Alan Magazine. Commissioner
Mike Dooley joined the meeting at 4:50 p.m. Chair Nick DePorter was absent. Youth Commissioner Sarah
Traylor was present.
Present as meeting facilitator was Peggy Fiandaca, President of Partners for Strategic Action, Inc. 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 MAY 9,2013 MEETING MINUTES
Vice Chair Koester Thomas MOVED to approve the May 9, 2013 meeting minutes, with a correction to define
the plus sign on item A4 as denoting the need to re-evaluate later. Commissioner Dunham SECONDED the
Cov motion, which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present.
AGENDA ITEM #5 — DISCUSSION REGARDING SPAC RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL
ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECENTLY ADOPTED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Vice Chair Koester Thomas welcomed Ms. Fiandaca as meeting facilitator and reviewed progress to date on the
task assigned to SPAC by Council.
Ms. Fiandaca recapped the priorities that were identified as short-term, mid-term, and long term during the last
SPAC meeting (copy attached) and discussion ensued regarding potential adjustments to the priorities,
specifically moving item A4 from a short-term to a mid-term priority.
The Commission discussed identifying specific industries to be targeted initially and Ms. Fiandaca pointed out
that the Resource Board would be qualified to make those determinations.
Vice Chair Koester Thomas voiced the Commission's consensus to move item A4 to a mid-term strategy.
Commissioner Bordow suggested moving item Cl from a mid-term to a short-term priority and the Commission
concurred.
The intent and structure of the Advisory Board was then discussed.
Commissioner Dunham recommended a 15-member board that includes representatives from major utilities
(Sanitary District, Chaparral City Water, CenturyLink, Cox, Southwest Gas,and SRP),banking and financial,real
estate, school district, Chamber of Commerce, Ft. McDowell, retail sector, manufacturing sector, hospitality
(kw
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industry, and medical industry. He further recommended that ex-officio members would be the Town Manager,
Chamber President SPAC Chair,and Mayor. •
Commissioner Bordow recommended that the Resource Board include representatives from the technology sector
and small businesses.
Following discussion, it was agreed that the technology sector should be included on the board and that small
business will already be represented by virtue of the fact that most businesses in Fountain Hills are small.
Further discussion led to consensus that the Advisory Board should be comprised of the representatives
recommended by Commissioner Dunham; that the Advisory Board should instead be called an Economic
Development Resource Board; that the Resource Board should serve proactively to implement direction given by
the Town Manager, Economic Development Director, or other staff designee; that the board should develop their
operating procedures under the direction of the staff person charged with economic development; that the board
should meet quarterly; and that members of the board should serve 3-year, staggered terms.
Ms. Fiandaca referred to the"Nature of Work" section on page 1 of a handout entitled"Fountain Hills Economic
Development Plan" (copy attached), and discussion led to the following suggestions:
1. The third bullet should read,"Monitors,manages, and evaluates economic development projects ensuring
consistency with the Economic Development, General, and Strategic plans, as well as conducting
cost/benefit analysis."
2. The eleventh bullet should read,"Maintains strong working relationships with stakeholders and partners."
3. The header over the "Nature of Work" section should be changed to read "Economic Development
Program."
4. The twelfth and thirteenth bullets should be eliminated.
5. Vice Chair Koester Thomas will provide further edits of a grammatical nature.
Commissioner Bordow MOVED to revise SPAC's previous recommendation to implement the Economic
Development Plan (i.e., utilization of a Town Economic Development Department with an advisory
Committee/commission) and to instead utilize the Economic Development Resource Board as the foundation of a
public/private partnership such as a 501(c)(4). The motion DIED FOR LACK OF A SECOND.
Commissioner Magazine suggested further discussion about alternatives.
Following discussion, there was consensus with Commissioner Dunham's statement that we have our
recommendation and should move on.
Ms. Fiandaca suggested that the Town Manager could be the point of contact for the first year;that the Resource
Board could be established; and that available funding could be used to accomplish some of the short-terms
priorities and/or hire a consultant to accomplish specific tasks.
Commission Magazine MOVED that the Town Manager act as the Economic Development program contact in
year one, with assistance through the development of the Economic Development Resource Board, and with a
program evaluation and reconsideration as part of subsequent budget processes in years two and three.
Commissioner Dunham SECONDED the motion.
Discussion ensued regarding the specificity in the motion regarding timelines and the fact that the program will
automatically be evaluated during the budget process.
Commissioner Magazine AMENDED THE MOTION to recommend that the Town Manager act as the steward
of the Economic Development program in year one, with assistance from the development of the Economic
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. . .„
Development Resource Board, and with a program evaluation at the end of year one as part of the annual budget
process.
Commissioner Dunham AGREED TO THE AMENDED MOTION.
The motion CARRIED(4 aye, 1 abstention).
With respect to the handout entitled"Fountain Hills Economic Development Plan," it was agreed that the"Skills"
section would be deleted and that the remainder of the handout will be provided to Council.
I Ms. Williams will notify the Commission of the Council meeting date when SPAC's recommendations will
appear on the agenda.
Vice Chair Koester Thomas thanked Ms. Fiandaca for her valuable service.
AGENDA ITEM#7— SCHEDULE UPCOMING MEETINGS
It was noted that SPAC meetings are scheduled to occur on June 12, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. and on July 10, 2013 at
5:00 p.m. An additional SPAC meeting was scheduled to occur on August 21,2013 at 5:00 p.m.
AGENDA ITEM#8— ADJOURN
Commissioner Magazine MOVED to adjourn at 6:15 p.m. and Commissioner Bordow SECONDED the motion,
which CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY by those present.
c
Shaunna Williams, Recording Secretary
III
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DRAFT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MATRIX
Time
A. Business Attraction
Goal:Attract new business growth to diversify the economy.
1 Develop an inventory of existing office space 5
2 Implement office recruitment strategies M
3 Initiate a higher education feasibility study M
4 Initiate a healthcare and wellness feasibility study 5+
5 Continue relationships with economic development entities S
6 Identify targeted business owners and communicate M
7 Identify opportunities to connect directly with retailers L
8 Provide current data on the economic dynamics S
9 Establish an economic development presence on Town's website S
10 Develop collateral materials and messaging about Fountain Hills S
11 Actively pursue a first class performance venue in Fountain Park L
12 Collaborate with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation S
13 Promote the Community Center and other local venues S
14 Explore feasibility and initiate strategies to expand hospitality facilities L
15 Develop multi-day major events while ensuring viability of existing events M
16 Implement a program to attract more group tours M/L
D. Business Retention and Expansion
Goal:Retain and expand existing businesses.
1 Identify companies with plans to expand S
2 Identify companies at risk of leaving/downsizing;provide help S
3 Utilize an electronic tool/system specific for business retention M
4 Regularly interview,evaluate results,and identify policies or incentives S
5 Conduct annual economic summit to understand business needs and changes M
C. Entrepreneurial Development
Goal:Establish Fountain Hills as an entrepreneurial center.
1 Promote the Business Incubator program M
2 Annually evaluate the Business Incubator effectiveness S
3 Partner to assist with business start-ups and mentoring M
D. Foundational Maintenance
Goal:Ensure systems and structures support economic growth.
1 Perform survey of incentive strategies being used in metro area S
2 Compose assistance and incentive proposal for Council's consideration S
3 Communicate the incentives adopted by the Council to targeted businesses M
4 Identify and review Town regulations that are onerous for development efforts 5
5 Facilitate regulatory modifications to enhance economic development activities M
6 Adequately fund and maintain capital improvement projects L
7 Collaboratively pursue funding strategies that meet current and future needs L
Locational Catalysts
Goal:Revitalize the economic opportunities of community assets.
1 Identify and mitigate land use restrictions and zoning within Downtown L
2 Identify and assess vehicular and pedestrian conflicts in Downtown L
3 Evaluate Downtown parking quantity and quality L
4 Ensure proper maintenance of Downtown public and private infrastructure L
5 Maintain Downtown aesthetics S
6 Encourage infill development and redevelopment within Downtown S
7 Support a diversified retail and restaurant mix in the Downtown Avenue District L
8 Develop a pedestrian walkway plan within Downtown 5
9 Establish a vision for future commercial corridors beyond Downtown L
Fountain Hills Economic Development Plan
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT/DIRECTOR
Nature of Work
• Directs economic development initiatives to achieve the objectives outlined by the
Fountain Hills Economic Development Plan and guided by the Economic Development
Advisory Board
• Serves as the key point of contact for the Town's economic development activities and
as an ombudsman for economic development projects
• Monitors, manages, and evaluates economic development projects including ensuring
plan consistency and conducting cost/benefit analysis
• Serve as an advocate for economic development that is aligned with the adopted
Economic Development Plan
• Effective communication of and about the economic development process, benefits,
and projects
• Maintains a liaison with various local, state, and federal agencies, coordinating projects
with agencies as deemed necessary and appropriate, e.g. GPEC, Arizona Commerce
Authority, chamber of commerce, etc.
• Provides professional economic development advice to prospects, advisory committee,
and town council
• Assists with negotiation and the management of professional service contracts, property
sales and negotiations, and economic development oriented negotiations, as assigned
• Work with the Economic Development Advisory Board to formulate, evaluate, and
implement marketing and business attraction strategies aligned with the Economic
Development Plan
• Monitors legislation and regulations relating to economic development and report
findings to appropriate impacted parties, i.e. Town Manager, Economic Development
Advisory Board, and Town Council
• Maintains strong working relationships with the general public, area businesses, clients,
the media, and others
• Continuous professional development and keeping abreast of trends in the field of
economic development
• Direct reporting to the Town Manager
Skills
• Considerable technical knowledge and experience in economic and community
development
• Experience in business recruitment, development, retention, and expansion
• Ability to conduct project cost/benefit analysis
• Ability to manage multiple projects and work on short term initiatives as well as long
term objectives simultaneously
• Considerable independent judgment and initiative in combining a broad scope of No)
professional planning and economic development knowledge and sophisticated,
analytical judgments in order to solve a variety of complex, technical problems
• Evaluation of technical data and reports with the ability to translate into usable, easy—
to-understand manner
• Working knowledge of municipal zoning, development codes, infrastructure, and
planning programs and processes
• Overall management of economic development project activities
• Ability to communicate effectively to groups and individuals, elected officials, engineers,
architects, contractors, developers, businesses, employees, and general public
• Ability to collaborate with a variety of individuals and agencies on projects
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD
Responsibilities:
• Provides broad policy recommendations (essential policies, rules, regulations, and other
related matters) regarding the Town of Fountain Hills economic development program
• Act as the local response team for economic development prospects
• Monitor, evaluate, and make update recommendations to the Economic Development
Plan
Qualifications:
The Economic Development Advisory Board consists of 15 regular members with a term of 3
years. Regular members must be citizens of the Town of Fountain Hills or business persons with
operations in Fountain Hills. The regular membership of the Board shall include one
representative from each of the following categories:
• Major utilities
• Banking or financial services
• Real estate
• Large business
• Small business
• Higher education
• School district
• Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce
• 3 representatives from at-large business
Ex-officio (non-voting) members:
• Town Manager
• Chamber President