FH hopes plan brings businesses, people

The Fountain Hills Town Council has adopted an economic-development plan focused on attracting employers, to grow the population and support existing retail.

The town is operating without an economic-development administrator. The plan heads to the town’s Strategic Planning Advisory Commission for a recommendation on staffing, organization and funding, said Town Manager Ken Buchanan.

The proposal is based on “expanding the local economy and improving the standard of living,” he said.

One goal is to attract business growth to diversify the Fountain Hills economy. The plan targets: professional, technical and scientific services; health care, medical, biosciences and wellness; finance and insurance; retail and education; and arts, entertainment and recreation.

Those sectors offer higher-wage professional positions that match the town’s labor force and build on its regional clusters, Buchanan said.

The plan calls for establishing a business-retention and expansion program to help employers in town. The plan would ensure the town is business-friendly with regulatory modifications to foster economic-development opportunities

“Clearly the place to start is business-attraction,” said Councilman Henry Leger. “It’s clearly connected to all elements of the plan.”

Councilman Cecil Yates said the biggest pushes should be to pursue employers with a large workforce and higher-wage jobs and going after retail to support that population.

Vice Mayor Tait Elkie said he wants to focus on business-attraction and attracting residents through community events.

The next step will be the commission’s recommendation on executing the plan.

“That involves approach and possibly looking at a contract with a person or an entity that would help us with business-attraction,” Buchanan said.