Yuma’s pros and cons
Expert weighs economic strengths, weaknesses at council retreat
As the economic divide between the urban and rural areas of the state grows, Yuma officials invited a Phoenix individual to frankly point out what Yuma lacks when it comes to attracting industry.
“I run the state of Maricopa,” quipped Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, using a term often associated with the largest metropolitan area in Arizona, which is experiencing exponential growth while the rest of the state either declines or stagnates. He addressed the Yuma City Council on Monday, the first day of a two-day retreat.
Camacho has ties to Yuma. He served as the president and CEO of the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation from 2006-2008. He learned a lot in Yuma and still has a soft spot for the city, he said.
As the Phoenix metro area explodes economically, Camacho explained what the region is doing right and how Yuma can likewise set itself up for success. GPEC is the top economic development organization in the U.S. because “we go out and we lead with tenacity,” he said.
He noted that Yuma is doing some things right. GPEC includes all 22 cities in the metro area, which is important because communities competing by themselves can’t leverage all the assets in the region. Similarly, Yuma and the cities in the 4FrontED region, including San Luis, Arizona, and San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, complete as a megaregion, with every city contributing to the local economy.
Working as a region will become even more important as the U.S. competes with China. Camacho foresees in the next couple of years that manufacturers will be coming back in droves to the U.S. and Arizona has to be prepared.
Yuma’s biggest challenge? While the Phoenix metro area has millions of turnkey industrial spaces ready for business to take over, Yuma has no existing properties.
The next best step would be to develop fully permittable buildings that can be delivered in 12 months. The rezoning should all be taken care of before a company shows up asking about Yuma.
Companies are in the “derisk business,” Camacho said. The greater the risk, the more likely they will go somewhere else. That’s why Yuma needs to have business sites ready to go.
Businesses look at several factors: workforce skills, transportation infrastructure, state and local tax scheme, ease of permitting and regulatory procedures, workforce development, land and/or building prices and supply, utilities (cost and reliability), right to work state, higher education resources and quality of life.
Arizona has the advantage of having lower labor costs, but companies are also looking for automation because everything is mechanized. Companies are “flocking” to cities with this kind of educated workforce. This is where Arizona Western College and the local universities satellites can jump in to build “education equity.”
“Be ready and make the commitment,” Camacho said.
Companies are also looking at the quality of life. It’s becoming more important for companies to make sure that their workers like where they live. Communi
ties that invest in arts and culture will separate themselves from others, Camacho noted.
Yuma should be thinking about what the region will look like in the next 20 years. He conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of Yuma.
As strengths, Camacho listed location, operating costs, speed to market and city/regional coordination.
For weaknesses, he pointed to a lack of industrial and commercial properties and brand awareness (people should think of Yuma as more than a place for retirees, for example).
Opportunities include mega-regional cooperation and the “demise” of California due to a lot of companies leaving the neighboring state. Yuma has the opportunity to leverage its location to its advantage and use the resources it has, such as being the winter vegetable capital of the world.
The threats are educational attainment, urban vs. rural divide (with most jobs going to the Phoenix area) and a digital divide with deficits in Wi-Fi and broadband, something that has been especially noticeable during the COVID-19 pan
demic when many residents work and go to school from home.
Mayor Doug Nicholls asked Camacho whether water and water rights attract industry. Camacho noted that water comes up in every conversation. Again, it’s a brand thing. People think Arizona has no water, but he added that Phoenix and Maricopa County have a strong water position, which is critical.
The mayor also asked how much the communities in the Phoenix metro area invest in economic development. Camacho noted that it depends on the size of the city, but the smallest community has at least four people dedicated to economic development.
It’s not about being adversarial, he added. He’s happy to share his insight because “Yuma still has a fond place in my heart,” but also because Phoenix doesn’t need some of the investment. They’re on another level, competing with Shanghai and Chicago.
“It’s amazing what you’ve done with this community …, but you have to dream bigger,” Camacho said, adding that rural areas are a key ingredient to the state’s economy.