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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-25 EDAC Minutes ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES April 25, 2018 City of Kitchener Economic Development Advisory Committee met on this date, commencing at 11:00 a.m. Members: Andrew Head, Anthony Zammit, Barry Lowry, Councillor Bil Ioannidis, Christine Michaud, Jason Malfara, Jeremy Auger, Johanna Classon-Romero, Margaret Johnston, Mark Bingeman, Sandra O’Hagan, Councillor Scott Davey, Shirley Madill Staff in attendance: Brian Bennett, Chris Farrell, Cory Bluhm, Thom Ryan, Tracey Murray Delegations: Judy Stephens-Wells; Compass Kitchener Eric Pisani; Region of Waterloo TJ Flynn; Region of Waterloo Business Items 1. Judy Stephens-Wells – Compass Kitchener After an introduction, J. Stephens-Wells gave a short overview of the work of Compass Kitchener, and invited everyone to attend the All Committees Meeting on June 21, 2018. The All Committees Meeting will focus on the upcoming strategic plan process that Compass Kitchener will be going through. They are also looking for feedback on the report card that was presented to Council in March. 2. Eric Pisani and TJ Flynn; Region of Waterloo – ION Update E. Pisani provided an overview of his role of integrating GRT with ION. The Region is anticipating the realignment of the service routes to work with ION, expecting more ridership. The ION trains will run every 8- 10 minutes during the day and up to 30 minutes between trains in the evening. The standard for a walk to a bus stop is 450 metres and they are currently working on closing any gaps. Fairview Mall will have a “stop- and-ride” that will accommodate 200 cars. All stations will also have bike racks. Questions/Comments:  What are your marketing plans to increase ridership? Mailers and advertisements for the new GRT services, ION running safety campaigns. In the future there will be joint advertisements with the GRT and ION.  What about the small towns and Cambridge – is there a reason they were not included in the brochure that was handed out? The purpose of the brochure is to communicate the changes for this year and keep the message simple.  Have we seen any early drivers related to economic development? Current developments have identified the ION as a factor in their development decision, although it is not necessarily the only factor.  GRT has seen some increase; however, there was a drop in ridership due to High School Students being moved to yellow school buses, Uber and road construction.  Online tools are being developed to allow riders to plan their trips for GRT / ION connections.  Wifi is currently available on the route to Cambridge. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES April 25, 2018 City of Kitchener Updates/Discussion Items 1. High Speed Train Development Councillor S. Davey raised the subject of High Speed Train development and advised that the upcoming election may have some impact on the development of the rail corridor. The Progressive Conservatives did have it in their platform, but with the transfer of leadership, it has been removed. S. Davey advised he will be bringing forward a motion to Council supporting High Speed Rail, which should be done hand in hand with All Day Two Way GO. S. Davey said that this is outlined in the NDP platform. What is the City’s role for advocacy with the High Speed Rail? We have a great deal of involvement in partnership with Toronto. From a tourism standpoint it is important and we should include Minto in the discussion. S. Davey indicated that without public pressure to keep this at the forefront, we could lose it. 2. Breithaupt Block development Regarding the Planning Committee’s decision to defer the Breithaupt Block development, EDAC would like to have more involvement in the future. C. Bluhm suggested that the role EDAC can play is to provide the planner with feedback as opposed to Council. 3. Developments update – B. Bennett  High level overview of current downtown developments, as well as the Budd site  Strasburg Road land in the Huron Business Park is now out for tender  Trinity Church has sold and the new developers have announced plans for a 33 storey, 460 units condo development  Catalyst137 is leasing very fast, Kik is moving from Waterloo to Catalyst  The Film, Music and Interactive Media Office was approved  True North – Communitech conference with 2,000+ attendees  Manufacturing Innovation Network Summit  Maker Expo  Tesla dealership will be moving into the old SAAB dealership Tracey Murray Committee Administrator