HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 2003-03-26ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
March 26, 2003
11:00 am- 1:00 pm
Conestoga Room, Main Floor, Kitchener City Hall
Attendance:
Staff:
Regrets:
Glenn Scheels
Mayor, Carl Zehr
Peter Benninger
Peter Cook
Joan Euler
Paul Kuntz
George Borovilos
Jeff Willmer
Jeff Fielding
Councillor, Christina Weylie
Jane Jantzi
Shawky Fahel
Manfred Conrad
Hans Pottkamper
Ray Robinson
Councillor, John Smola
Scott Baird
Henrik Noesgaard
Kathy Bissell
Carla Ladd
Sandy Curzon
Lawrence Bingeman
Mike Sully
Councillor, Berry Vrbanovic
Approval of Minutes of February 26th , 2003
Minutes of February 26th, 2003 were approved as written.
Moved by Hans Pottkamper
Seconded by Henrik Noesgaard
Carried
2. Economic Development Business Plan
George Borovilos reviewed the draft Economic Development Strategic Business Plan
as it relates to the following topic areas:
· Goal
· Strategic Position
· Situation Analysis
· Value-Driven Economic Development
· Client Services
· Product Services
· Benchmarks
Mr. Borovilos requested input from EDAC in order to implement their comments into the
report before a revised report goes to a working session with Council on April 14th.
Comments:
· The City has no money to finance - we need Council to invest
· Airport lands - time to start moving forward - possible joint venture with Regional
municipalities
· Have the stakeholders take the airport lands to the next level (Region, Cities,
Townships)
· Business community needs to put pressure on Council
· Council needs the support of the community leaders
· If nothing is done to move forward, there is no growth and the city looses
businesses
· Identify long term issues
· Region needs to proceed with the Grand River Trunk Sanitary Station to bring
airport lands on stream
· Currently the assessment base is 83% residential and 17% industrial/commercial.
A better balance would be 70% residential and 30% industrial/commercial
· The four sectors need to be prioritized
· Concern was expressed that existing businesses need to be taken care of - best
customer is an existing one
· Tax base needs to be protected
· Look at what other municipalities like London and Woodstock are doing to bring on
more land
· Use current analysis to estimate taxes to City
· Do an executive summary of long term goals using measurable targets
· If we don't have industrial land, we are in trouble
· What drives industry to Kitchener is cost of living and quality of life
Mr. Borovilos thanked Committee for their feedback and will revise the business plan to
include their comments in the executive summary.
3. 2002 Highlights and 2003 Direction
Glenn Scheels provided an overview of past issues that EDAC has been involved in, which
included issues that he, as Chair of EDAC, felt were worth continuing as a focus for 2003:
· Economic Development corporate objectives
· Benchmarking
· Regional Growth Management Study
· Regional transportation Central Transit Corridor and links to the 401.
· Downtown initiatives
· Industrial land supply
EDAC Minutes
March 26, 2003
Motion: That a member of EDAC to be part of an in-house steering committee that is
developing a terms of reference for a feasibility study on employment lands. The study will
review timing; cost factors; and joint opportunities.
Hans Pottkamper volunteered to assist with this study.
Future agenda items include:
· CTT Business Plan
· Downtown Plan
· The New Kitchener Market
· Development Permit System
Committee then focused on two specific areas of today's discussions - the Economic
Development Business Plan and Industrial Land Supply. The comments made during Mr.
Borovilos' presentation on the Business Plan were echoed by Committee particularly for
the need of industrial land. EDAC agreed to be proactive and keep Council informed of
their stand on this issue. The following motion was put forth:
Recommendation
That the Kitchener Economic Development Advisory Committee is concerned about the
critical shortage of employment lands in Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo; and
That Kitchener Economic Development Advisory Committee requests immediate action
and encourages the Regional Municipality of Waterloo to begin the process to
formulate a joint strategy to explore the development of employment lands within the
Region; and
To assist in the development of this strategy the City of Kitchener immediately convene
a joint task force and include all relevant stakeholders concerned about this issue.
Motion by Hans Pottkamper
Seconded by Peter Benninger
Carried
EDAC Minutes
March 26, 2003
4. New Business
Children's Museum - there was no time to discuss this item, however it is noted that
Joan Euler has extended an invitation to Committee to have a tour of the Children's
Museum as part of the May 28th meeting. Time will be determined when the agenda is
set.
Meeting called to adjourn at 1:00p.m.
Sandy Curzon, Recording Secretary
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 23rd, 2003
11:00am- 1:00pm
Conestoga Room, Main Floor, City Hall
Kitchener
EDAC Minutes
March 26, 2003