Avondale council and staff workshop to update strategic plan; economic growth, community well‑being prioritized

Avondale officials and city staff held a strategic planning workshop March 5 to revise the city’s 3–5 year priorities, focusing discussion on economic growth, community well‑being, resilient infrastructure and improving how the city delivers services.

The process matters because the council will use the strategic plan to set budget priorities, guide major projects and target outside partnerships and grant efforts over the next several years.

Council members, city management and outside facilitators worked through stakeholder survey results, public panels held earlier in the week, and an interactive exercise that asked councilors to identify what is true today and what they want Avondale to be in 10 years. Facilitator Nancy emphasized the plan’s role as a unifying document, saying the strategic plan is “the document that provides a clear statement of work, a clear statement of expectations, and a clear … priority list.”

Discussion highlights

- Economic growth and prosperity. Council and staff said recruiting higher‑quality retail, dining and entertainment, growing local jobs and planning for a range of housing choices are top priorities. Council member Garcia summarized the local emphasis in the six‑word icebreaker exercise as “Economic development, eatery, play, thriving, and safe.” Participants discussed using land‑use planning and targeted infrastructure investment—water, sewer and roadway capacity—to attract the kinds of businesses that support tourism and local amenities.

- Community well‑being. Participants broadened public safety to include environmental and public‑health concerns — air and water quality, emergency preparedness, and access to health services — and tied those to parks, trails and programs that support physical and mental health.

- Resilient infrastructure and transportation. The council discussed completing connected trails and multimodal links, improving road maintenance programs and coordinating regionally on large projects such as State Route 30 and river basin/flood issues. Staff noted a current transportation master plan update that will feed capital priorities.

- Connected and engaged community. The stakeholder engagement summary, presented by Janae, showed residents value Avondale’s welcoming character but want clearer information on services and more opportunities to connect. Ideas captured included enhanced signage, expanded community events and improved multilingual outreach.

- Innovative and effective government. Workshop discussion emphasized streamlining customer service and permitting, increasing use of technology to improve access and translation, retaining a competitive and skilled workforce, and seeking outside funding and partnerships to deliver services.

Vision and next steps

Workshop facilitators offered draft vision language combining council feedback: “In Avondale, we embrace the future with confidence by fostering innovation and empowering all residents and businesses to reach their full potential.” Councilors suggested short, memorable wording that ties to the city’s brand; staff will return a revised vision and the draft strategic outcomes for further review.

City staff will convert the workshop results into a draft strategic plan for council review. The plan is expected to be packaged with budget materials during the spring budget process, and council will have a chance to refine goals and strategies before formal adoption later in the budget cycle.

Adjournment

The workshop ended by unanimous motion to adjourn. Council member Garcia moved to adjourn; Council member White seconded and the council voted in favor.

Ending: The workshop produced a prioritized set of draft outcomes and a clear next step: staff will draft a formal strategic plan that links the council’s outcome areas to specific strategies, budget requests and external partnerships for formal consideration this spring.