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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Dev Adv 2010-02-24 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 24, 2010 City of Kitchener The Economic Development Advisory Committee met this date, chaired by Adrian Conrad; the following members were in attendance: Councillor John Smola, Councillor Christina Weylie, Alan Anderson, Mark Collins, Steven Voll, Dan Piedra, Bob Denton, Jeremy Auger, Ian Cook, Mark Bingeman, Len Carter, Rebecca Short, Peter Benninger The following people sent their regrets: Bernie Nimer, Brian Bennett The following people were absent: Howie Budd, Staff in attendance: Silvia Di Donato, Terry Boutilier, Tracey DeVille, Valerie Machado, Janette MacDonald, Rob Morgan, Cory Bluhm, Siobhan Delaney, Jeff Willmer, Rod Regier, Ingrid Pregel Approval of minutes - On motion, by Steven Voll The minutes of January 2010 were approved. New Business: 2.1 New Ontario Brownfield Regulations Adrian Conrad asked Terry Boutilier to provide an introduction in regards to this item. Terry Boutilier introduced Dave Innocente and Bob Fedy, from MTE Consultants. The Ministry of Environment (MOE), in 2004 produced regulations for Brownfield cleanup and that has set the basis for how Brownfield’s will be dealt with. The MOE approved new regulations on December 30, 2009 and now they are in place and the understanding of the new regulations begins in terms of how this is done, and what it means. MTE Consultants has been invited today to provide an overview of the new regulations as part of a discussion regarding this subject at the meeting in March. Mr. Fedy advised that these new regulations are in a pilot testing model right now and will be required as of July 1, 2011. Mr. Fedy and Mr. Innocente provided an overview of the Brownfield regulations, how they have changed, what changes have occurred with the site conditions standards, risk assessment changes and preparation and filing of site conditions. The Committee asked the following questions and provided the following feedback: With the new regulations, what would the cost comparison be for a gas station site now? It depends on each property and situation. Costs will vary depending on size, adjacent properties etc. Gas stations are an automatic Phase II which will increase sample requirements, have more strict standards and there is an increase in the timing and sampling required. What, if any, are the fill regulations in terms of moving from one site to another. For example, when a road crew digs up a road and temporarily places the fill on an adjacent property and then returns that fill once the construction has been complete. How does that affect the site and who is responsible? If you are not in the record of site condition process, you must stick with table one regulations from the MOE. The developer is still required to due diligence and understands that the material is clean. The Environmental Protection Act has always covered this specific example and that activity would be in violation of that Act. Councillor John Smola advised the Committee that the City takes into consideration the possible land contamination in cases of road reconstruction. Adrian Conrad thanked Mr. Fedy and Mr. Innocente for their presentation and advised the committee members that the next meeting will allow for some more time to discuss this further. 2.2 Tourism Rod Regier introduced Susan Cudahy and provided an overview of tourism and the connection to EDAC. There needs to be a series of conversations on tourism and what the role of the city has. It will take time to figure out what the role of the city is and the feedback from EDAC is important. We need to set the stage for the discussion to take place this year and in 2011 we will be drafting a new Economic Development Strategy and we need to build a tourism component to put into that strategy. This is the first of a series of conversations of how tourism fits into the overall strategy – keep in mind as we have this conversation how to develop tourism in Kitchener and how do we use tourism to assist in this. Susan Cudahy provided an overview of the Tourism in Waterloo Region, including the impact of tourism, where the hard links are between economic development and quality of place. She also provided an overview of what the Ministry of Tourism is doing. The committee was provided further background on the strength and size of tourism and the obstacles that arise due to it being a soft product. The economic impact of the industry is huge and an understanding needs to fuel how to grow the industry. The growth of Ontario is unlimited through tourism, Kitchener has identified different segments of clusters and some of those can be combined with tourism and there are opportunities to be at the forefront of driving new initiatives. Another component is the connection of Arts & Culture with tourism how those should be linked. The next meeting will allow for more conversation on this. There are also opportunities for an educational component to ensure that not only the Committee and the City of Kitchener understand but everyone else. The Committee provided the following feedback: It is true that the education component is there, we hear about manufacturing for example but not tourism, what is the role that educational institutions play in that and how do we engage that role? There are people looking at that now, thinking about creating a Tourism Centre for Excellence, for example. Conestoga College has been involved in some conversations. Tourism has never had a voice that stood up and fought for it we are starting to do that now. The Committee was reminded that this will be on the agenda for the next meeting to allow for further discussion. On motion by: Rebecca Short, The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm.