Sedona AZ (October 27, 2016) – It has been three months since I started my position as director of economic development for the city of Sedona. Thank you for the warm welcome. Not only is this the most beautiful place on Earth, Sedona is filled with entrepreneurial people who seek the highest quality of life for this community. I continue to be impressed with the talented staff, dedicated City Council, and engaged organizations, businesses and residents. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve this community.
You may be wondering, “Who is Molly, anyway?” I have spent the last 15 years working as a community and economic development professional. I fell in love with this career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Romania when I was able to connect small artists with a market to sell their paintings. From there I’ve had the pleasure of working in diverse communities — big, small, tourist and industrial — in Illinois and Wyoming. I’m passionate about building a sense of community, working with small businesses and connecting people to solutions.
It is my job to build and direct an economic development program for the city, and we will do this in a variety of ways. For starters, I’m developing relationships by listening to business success stories and existing impediments to growth. Along with city partners, we’re studying the local economy to understand and inventory our strengths and weaknesses. We’re also using data and research which will empower city leadership to make ongoing informed decisions.
Economic development isn’t just something that happens — it’s a process that requires strategies. Strategies must be flexible and relevant to where people live and do business, and the economic and environmental needs of our community as a whole.
The goal is to implement sustainable economic development efforts to diversify our local economy. This can be done through a plan that concentrates on business expansion, primary jobs which pay above-median wages, and quality of life. While the private sector creates jobs, it is the role of an economic development program to set the scene for thriving businesses and higher-wage jobs.
For example, a question we may ask ourselves at the city is: If the goal is to enable $100,000 of new payroll in our private sector, would we rather have 10 part-time jobs at $10,000, two jobs at $50,000 or one job at $100,000? Which situation is best for improving our quality of life and creating a sustainable local economy and do we focus on the quality of the jobs or the quantity of the jobs?
Based upon the Community Plan’s vision and a City Council priority of what economic development in Sedona will look like in years to come, staff is developing strategies that will help achieve outcomes of job creation, quality of life and business expansion.
Some of these strategies may include the following:
- Focus on health and wellness business expansion and recruitment.
- Support locally-owned businesses.
- Create a virtual incubator for businesses to use for resources.
- Capitalize on the creative industries such as the arts, film, research, music, architecture, and design.
- Understand the tourism supply-chain and associate dynamics for potential business growth.
- Address issues of workforce development and recruitment.
- Think regionally to support and grow the Verde Valley economy.
Clearly our future is bright and I look forward to serving the city. Feel free to contact me at 203-5117 or via email at MSpangler@SedonaAZ.gov.