City staffers pitch “business-friendly” plan for city

City of Maricopa’s city staffers and council members discussed and deliberated the economy from many angles during the Budget Planning and Future Building session Saturday at U. of A. Maricopa Agricultural Center.

With an aggressive plan to make Maricopa more “business-friendly,” City Management Assistant Danielle Casey said that establishing a lead-generating network is a key part of their strategy.

“…It means having networks, people and systems in place so that we can be apprised of companies that are thinking about locating in the state or the region, and be able to compete for them,” she said.

These networks have been established successfully due to the city’s relationship with commercial developers and brokers, located mostly in the area.

Even more successful, however, is the strategically strong relationship that the City of Maricopa has established with the Arizona Department of Commerce.

Usually, Casey said, a company that is considering relocating will call a state’s commerce or economic development department, making the idea of developing such a relationship critical, if not completely necessary.

As a result, Casey said that the City of Maricopa has responded to numerous leads through the Arizona Department of Commerce.

They have also become a member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council that, Casey said, has a far greater lead generation network than the Department of Commerce.

“That means the city of Maricopa will be able to participate and submit responses to projects at a higher frequency … the more we are engaged in the competition, the higher the chances we have to win the company,” she said.

Casey continued to emphasize the role that lead-generating networks will play in the future development of the city.

“The bottom line is: you can’t win if you don’t play. So we want to be in every single company, road and expansion location competition that can come our way…” she said.

Illustrating how the quality of life is related to the economic development of the city, Marty McDonald, Parks, Recreation and Libraries (PRL) Director, laid out his goals for the coming year.

A donation agreement for 11 acres to create Discovery Park is currently being finalized, McDonald said, which will be a park with trails and ramadas, which he describes as “passive recreation.”

Also on his list were upcoming events such as a diverse, “holidays of the world” this fall, and the Salsa Festival presented by inmaricopa.com with more local bands and a fireworks display this year.

A major goal of this department is also to develop a comprehensive Parks, Trails and Open Space Master Plan, McDonald said.

He also discussed a topic that he said might be getting lost in the community: teenagers.

“Right now the teenagers in this town … have nothing to do,” he said.

In an effort to change this, PRL has created a teen focus group, ultimately hoping to formulate a youth teen council to create more programs and opportunities and get teens involved in the planning process.

They have reserved an area in a future 35-acre park for a skate park. McDonald added that something as simple as a Madden Football tournament on playstation could give teens something to do. While it may seem very basic, he said, it is the city of Chandler’s number one teen event every year.

Councilman Kelly Haddad, here at a recent city council meeting, linked recreation and quality of life directly to Maricopa’s economic development during Saturday’s city planning session.

Council member Kelly Haddad commended McDonald’s efforts, saying, “… one thing we as a council need to keep in mind is that it’s creating fun for people, but it’s also quality of life, which leads directly to economic development, and, if we don’t have that, we’re not going to bring anybody in.”

Also part of McDonald’s plans is a new aquatic center, library and multi-generational center.

“So if we could get that approved next Tuesday, that would be really helpful, …” McDonald said, trailing off to the sound of laughter.

City of Maricopa Planning Director Amy Haberbosch gave recommendations concerning annexation; Council member Will Dunn proposed creating a position that would only focus on annexations in order to clear up confusion. The council decided to put this on the agenda of the next council meeting, set for tonight.

Photo by Aaron Thacker