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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDAC 2011-10-26ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES October 26, 2011 City of Kitchener The Economic Development Advisory Committee met this date, chaired by Jeremy Auger; the following members were in attendance: Councillor Scott Davey, Councillor Pau! Singh, Councillor Bil loannidis, Glenn Koehler, Adrian Conrad, Rebecca Short, Brian Bennett, Ashley Reid, Shawn DeBruyn, Ian Cook, Amr Kebbi, Peter Benninger, Mark Bingeman The following people sent their regrets: Steven Voll The following people were absent: Dr. Takhar Staff in attendance: Silvia Di Donato, Tracey DeVille, Cory Bluhm, Sandy Curzon, Shelley Adams, Valerie Machado, Janette Macdonald, Amy Breault Approval of minutes - The minutes of the September meeting were approved by Bil loannidis, seconded by Brian Bennett. New Business: 2.1 Economic Development StrateQV Report Silvia Di Donato and Cory Bluhm provided an overview of the Economic Development Strategy report and asked for feedback. Cory Bluhm advised on the downtown aspect of the plan and advised that this will be partnered with the downtown strategic plan that will be coming to the committee in November. The foAowing comments were received: • Clarification was provided on how the mission statement was created and why More emphasis is required on the manufacturing component of the strategy that is more than just M!N • Finance and Insurance cluster should have stronger wording • Current document feels a little downtown centric, there needs to be a tie in with the city as a whole • Ensure that we include what assets we have to compete globally • Include Conestoga College • Start-up City is a very strong brand and opportunity this needs to be moved to the first point Councillor Paul Singh declared a pecuniary interest, advising he owns property in the area that would support item 5 in the strategy and asked that the document be supported through two separate motions. On motion by Councillor Paul Singh, The Committee support items 1 to 4 in the Economic Development DRAFT Strategy with the changes received and suggested by the committee. Carried. On motion by Councillor Bil loannidis: "The Committee support item 5 in the Economic Development DRAFT Strategy with the changes received and suggested by the committee." Carried. "The Committee asked that they receive a copy of the final document by email prior to the document being seen by council." 2.2 Maple Leaf Closure Silvia Di Donato provided a one page overview of the Maple Leaf closure planned for 2014. She provided an overview of the next steps and how we are working to assist our community in any way possible including related initiatives from provincial and federal government. A joint task force is now being formed to focus on work force needs. The Manufacturing Innovation Network (MIN) is also going to be involved in this with some focus an how the employees can get the training and help they need. The committee provided the following feedback and staff provided clarification where necessary: - 1200 jobs affected once the closure does happen what is the offshoot affect do we know that number or not - Is this a phased close dawn o They are planning to be at full capacity far the next 3 years - Are there opportunities for employees to apply to the new Hamilton facility when it opens? o We do not have those answers - Do we know why they decided to consolidate their production to one new facility in Hamilton ? o Staff advised that Maple Leaf made that decision and it is unclear at this time why they chose Hamilton - Should we explore a relationship with other food producers in the community like Plller's - Since the land is owned by maple leaf what are their plans o Maple Leaf is going to work with the task force to discuss how those lands and buildings will best be dealt with - Will we have a special section of www.kitchener.ca devoted to the Maple Leaf closure? - Need to be prepared if they decide to close earlier than the three year mark - Continue to maximize .regional assets that match other food processor requirements - Ensure we get a demographic profile of the 1200 so we can best aid in retraining, job search at all levels - Haw many of these employees can fit into our start up city model even one or two that might be able to succeed is a good story for the whole community - What is the impact on city revenue because of sewer charges and tax assessment reductions on vacancy? - Does this tie into the strategy far more opportunity to promote food here -- the next generation is putting pressure on the market for more local food and this may be an opportunity for this - Could there be a matching program to connect Maple Leaf employees with local employer needs Staff advised that they will research these questions and add the Maple Leaf closure to the agenda as a standing item and as the data becomes available, we can look at it and analyze a Tittle more. Pro'ect u dates Janette ~ MacDonald provided the committee with an overview of the project updates. On motion the meeting was adjourned at 5:50 pm