Earlier this year Fountain Hills Dialysis opened its doors to serve the community and Bealls Outlet department store returned to town and set up shop in the Target plaza.

Scott Cooper, economic development director for the town, reported to the Town Council last week those are two of the recent success stories in bringing business to Fountain Hills, but he said there is more to come.

Cooper confirmed that there are two new projects in the works expected to bring business and jobs over the next couple of years.

A microbrewery is in the process of completing tenant improvements and regulatory objectives and hopes to open in the coming spring, according to Cooper.

He also said a healthcare operation is taking a close look at the community.

There is also a group of existing businesses that is thriving in the community and making expansion plans. He cited Broker’s Alliance as adding new jobs, and Prevco Subsea is employing nautical engineers.

Cooper said he is working on workforce development, noting that more than 7,700 Fountain Hills residents leave town for their daily jobs. About 2,900 who live outside of town come here to work every day. He said the number of Fountain Hills residents who work in town is just under 1,300.

“My goal is to shrink that ratio,” Cooper said.

More than 80 new business leads have come to Cooper from the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council over the past year. Of those, Cooper told the council that nine are still active leads.

The marketing effort Cooper is using for the town includes a brochure, a trade show booth he uses for area and regional events and shares with the towns’ Tourism Department.

He said there is also a new video just being completed that he will use to promote the town.

Cooper also uses rating information that can be found on various websites. For example he cited Zippia as naming Fountain Hills one of the top 10 most successful cities in Arizona. He said another site ranks the town as the third best suburb in the Valley.

Councilman Cecil Yates asked Cooper what the council can do to help him as they look toward budgeting for next fiscal year.

Cooper said he needs to work harder on outreach, particularly social media, but also good old fashioned handshake networking.

Town Manager Grady Miller said staff is currently looking at options for sharing social media outreach resources across town departments.