Message from Mayor Schmidt
At
the present time there is a movement along the border to establish an
alliance group to promote economic development. To date, there has been
three meetings involving Mayors from Southeastern Arizona and Sonoran
Mexico, as well as representatives from Cochise County, Tucson, the
Mexican Consulate of Douglas, the American Consulate of Nogales, and the
Deputy Secretary of Employment and Productivity for the Labor
Department of Mexico.
The apparent founders of this movement have come from the Douglas area in Mayor Danny Ortega of Douglas and Mayor Irma Villalobos de Teran of Agua Prieta. Due to the economic downturn along the border, collaboration was formed to try and increase development along the Northeastern Sonoran Desert Border. The first meeting was held in Agua Prieta and the two following meetings were held in Douglas. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held in Cannea Mexico.
The second meeting on December 7th was the first one that I attended with Councilman Villa and the topics were pretty wide spread involving everything from Agriculture, Mining, Geography, Industrial Parks, Railroads, and a new Port of Entry in Douglas. The majority of the discussions were carried out by the Mayors, and the Secretary of Employment from Mexico in which they stated their desire to increase relationships in the region along the Border.
Tourism became one of the major topics at this meeting, which sparked the interest of both Adriana Badal, the Mayor of Bisbee and myself. On the Mexican side their interest in tourism seems to be in the area of medical along the border and rural further south. Adriana Badal pretty much took over the meeting being that she is fluent in Spanish and her family is originally from Nacozari Mexico. There was a press conference afterward and I was asked what I thought of the meeting. I stated that I did not know what to expect before the meeting, but thought that the results were constructive, and would attend the next meeting, which was scheduled for January 25th in Bisbee.
On December 27th in Bisbee we had a meeting with Mayor Ortega of Douglas, Mayor Mueller of Sierra Vista, Mayor Badal of Bisbee, Councilman Villa of Tombstone, and myself. The purpose of this meeting was to try and narrow down the topics of discussion for the next meeting on January 25th. The topics discussed were characteristic of Bisbee, Tombstone, Sierra Vista, and Douglas that could be focused on to attract tourist and increase business and economic opportunities in the region. There were four points that came out of this meeting.
1. That Mayor Ortega would present a copy of the City of Douglas� marketing and border safety brochure and suggest that the border mayors� create a brochure similar for the use in other border communities.
2. Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Tombstone, and Douglas should consider promoting historical tourism in Tombstone and Bisbee, sporting events in Douglas, and retail amenities in Sierra Vista.
3. The border communities in the regional development project should promote resources on both sides of the border such as medical facilities in Mexico, and retail opportunities in Cochise County.
4. The group investigate �Vamos a Cochise County� gift card that would be available to employees in Sonora. Money could be added to the gift card through payroll deductions and be used in retail establishment in Cochise County.
The meeting was constructive, and the topic of tourism kept surfacing throughout the meeting. I decide that at the next meeting which the location was changed from Bisbee to Douglas I would invite Susan Wallace Director of the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce to participate.
At the meeting on January 25th in Douglas topics were narrowed down into area of importance for which to concentrate development. It was decided that a brand name should be created to include the Northern Mexico and Southeastern Arizona Region. There should be a Regional Brochure to inform tourist about the laws governing both sides of the border. A Web Site should be created for the new coalition for which we have yet to decide on a name of. Create a plan for marketing the region.
The major areas of action would be in Tourism, Employment, Infrastructure, and Border Security. It was decided that tourism is best handled through marketing. I believe that Susan Wallace came away with some very good ideas in this area. Employment is covered by the increase of business in the region. Infrastructure is basically making the region easier to access from both sides of the borders. Border Security is always an issue. It was noted that the region is the safest along the U.S. and Mexico border.
The next meeting will be held March 8th in Cannea Mexico and I believe it will be a very productive meeting since the areas of action has been narrowed to just a few topics. The alliance has a lot of potential and I hope it keeps moving forward.
The apparent founders of this movement have come from the Douglas area in Mayor Danny Ortega of Douglas and Mayor Irma Villalobos de Teran of Agua Prieta. Due to the economic downturn along the border, collaboration was formed to try and increase development along the Northeastern Sonoran Desert Border. The first meeting was held in Agua Prieta and the two following meetings were held in Douglas. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held in Cannea Mexico.
The second meeting on December 7th was the first one that I attended with Councilman Villa and the topics were pretty wide spread involving everything from Agriculture, Mining, Geography, Industrial Parks, Railroads, and a new Port of Entry in Douglas. The majority of the discussions were carried out by the Mayors, and the Secretary of Employment from Mexico in which they stated their desire to increase relationships in the region along the Border.
Tourism became one of the major topics at this meeting, which sparked the interest of both Adriana Badal, the Mayor of Bisbee and myself. On the Mexican side their interest in tourism seems to be in the area of medical along the border and rural further south. Adriana Badal pretty much took over the meeting being that she is fluent in Spanish and her family is originally from Nacozari Mexico. There was a press conference afterward and I was asked what I thought of the meeting. I stated that I did not know what to expect before the meeting, but thought that the results were constructive, and would attend the next meeting, which was scheduled for January 25th in Bisbee.
On December 27th in Bisbee we had a meeting with Mayor Ortega of Douglas, Mayor Mueller of Sierra Vista, Mayor Badal of Bisbee, Councilman Villa of Tombstone, and myself. The purpose of this meeting was to try and narrow down the topics of discussion for the next meeting on January 25th. The topics discussed were characteristic of Bisbee, Tombstone, Sierra Vista, and Douglas that could be focused on to attract tourist and increase business and economic opportunities in the region. There were four points that came out of this meeting.
1. That Mayor Ortega would present a copy of the City of Douglas� marketing and border safety brochure and suggest that the border mayors� create a brochure similar for the use in other border communities.
2. Bisbee, Sierra Vista, Tombstone, and Douglas should consider promoting historical tourism in Tombstone and Bisbee, sporting events in Douglas, and retail amenities in Sierra Vista.
3. The border communities in the regional development project should promote resources on both sides of the border such as medical facilities in Mexico, and retail opportunities in Cochise County.
4. The group investigate �Vamos a Cochise County� gift card that would be available to employees in Sonora. Money could be added to the gift card through payroll deductions and be used in retail establishment in Cochise County.
The meeting was constructive, and the topic of tourism kept surfacing throughout the meeting. I decide that at the next meeting which the location was changed from Bisbee to Douglas I would invite Susan Wallace Director of the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce to participate.
At the meeting on January 25th in Douglas topics were narrowed down into area of importance for which to concentrate development. It was decided that a brand name should be created to include the Northern Mexico and Southeastern Arizona Region. There should be a Regional Brochure to inform tourist about the laws governing both sides of the border. A Web Site should be created for the new coalition for which we have yet to decide on a name of. Create a plan for marketing the region.
The major areas of action would be in Tourism, Employment, Infrastructure, and Border Security. It was decided that tourism is best handled through marketing. I believe that Susan Wallace came away with some very good ideas in this area. Employment is covered by the increase of business in the region. Infrastructure is basically making the region easier to access from both sides of the borders. Border Security is always an issue. It was noted that the region is the safest along the U.S. and Mexico border.
The next meeting will be held March 8th in Cannea Mexico and I believe it will be a very productive meeting since the areas of action has been narrowed to just a few topics. The alliance has a lot of potential and I hope it keeps moving forward.
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