One resident at a public meeting in Goodyear praised the citys Innovation Hub and a partnership with Arizona State University that offers a 6- to 8-week course and free resources for new businesses.

The resident said the program provides reservable conference rooms and office spaces for entrepreneurs to incubate and grow, and encouraged neighbors to contact retailers they want in Goodyear to help attract new stores. "It's a great time to be here at Goodyear. Seeing the exponential growth," the resident said.

Ruben, a small-business owner at Cafe Amporos, said training from the Innovation Hub and its Business Builders program helped his marketing. "The total that that video brought in was $25,000 and it was all of the stuff that I had learned from Innovation Hub and Business Builders," Ruben said.

Speakers used the example of Trader Joe's to illustrate how residents and city efforts together can persuade retailers to open local locations. The resident also urged holiday shoppers to "support local," arguing that local spending keeps tax revenue in Goodyear that helps fund services including police, fire and roads.

No formal actions, votes or staff assignments were recorded in the transcript for this item; comments were part of the public-comment portion of the meeting.