HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-23 EDAC Minutes
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 23, 2019 City of Kitchener
A meeting of the Economic Development Advisory Committee was held at 11:04 am this date,
chaired by M. Bingeman, and vice-chaired by B. Whittaker, with all members present, except
Councilor Johnson, J. Lintzeris, and S. Madill.
STAFF:
C. Bluhm, Executive Director of Economic Development
B. Bennett, Manager of Business Development
V. Boyle, Economic Development Assistant
L. Chlumsky, Economic Researcher
V. Bradford, Business Development Representative
C. Farrell, Manager Waterloo Region Small Business Centre
H. Abel, Manager Downtown Development
Information Items
1. Make it Kitchener Update: C. Bluhm
meeting in September including a recap of the success of the Ideas of the Brave
Community Symposium. C. Bluhm explained that over the next month and a half the
survey results, workshop findings and Ideas of the Brave take-away will explored.
2. High Level Macro Research Affordability, Industry Trends, and Aging
Population and Health: L. Chlumsky & C. Bluhm
L. Chlumsky and C. Bluhm provided a presentation on the research topics of
affordability, industry trends, and the effect of aging populations on our health system
and as the topics were presented the committee was invited to discuss provide
feedback and ideas.
Affordability focused on the fact that the cost of housing both to purchase and rent is
increasing and the level of income is rising much slower and is relatively stagnant. The
debt to income ratio is also rising in our community which means that people are still
have it. This is an issue because in
order to retain talent in the community more discretionary income is an important
factor. Ideas around how our community might make a difference to make our
community more affordable were discussed as well as ideas about how to increase
discretionary income levels.
1
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 23, 2019 City of Kitchener
The research topic of Industry trends dove into the shifts from Manufacturing to
Technology that we have seen in our community over the past two decades. However
the reality that manufacturing is still a large industry in our community was highlighted.
The other major finding was an opportunity focused on the information/culture industries
that are rising in our community that we could capitalize on. The committee discussed
how this research and topic should be dove into deeper and also where would
investment make the most sense.
The research topic of our aging population and its effect on health care costs focused
on the rising number of residents entering their 50s and 60s and the next spike we will
see of individuals currently in their 30s. This is highlighted by looking at the total number
of individuals that will be 65+ in our community in 2021 and then again in 2041 that
number is almost than double. This means that with a much larger population in the 65+
age group our spending from 2021 to 2041 on health care will also be almost double.
The committee discussed how the community might support and encourage
advancements in health and medical technology opportunities.
Meeting adjourned @ 1:04pm.
2