HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDAC - 2017-10-25
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
October 25, 2017 City of Kitchener
The Economic Development Advisory Committee met on this date with the following members present:
Mark Bingeman, Andrew Head, Jason Malfara, Sandra O’Hagan, Johanna Classon-Romero, Mark Paleczny,Shirley
Madill, Barry Lowry, Barclay Whittaker, Scott Davey, Bil Ioannidis, Paul Singh
Staff in attendance: Tracey Murray, Brian Bennett, Cory Bluhm, Valerie Bradford, Kim Feere, Chris Farrell, Thom Ryan
Business Items
1. Approval of Minutes
The committee was asked to approve the minutes from the June meeting due to lack of quorum at the August
meeting, along with the approval of the August minutes.
On motion by Barry Lowry, that the minutes from the June 28, 2017 meeting be approved. Carried.
On motion by Andrew Head, that the minutes from the August 23, 2017 meeting be approved. Carried.
2. Waterloo Region Small Business Centre
Chris Farrell, Manager, Small Business Centre, provided an overview of the services, client demographics, and
partners associated with the operation of the three Small Business Centres in the Region.
The committee asked for clarification on the starter company numbers and what follow up the centre conducts.
The committee was advised that surveys are completed on a regular basis.
The committee asked if there any plans to expand and they were advised that the way the centre is expanding is
through grants from the Province for project funding. It was also noted that in addition to the financial contribution
from each municipality, there is also in-kind support.
3. Discussion
A brief discussion took place outlining issues regarding the development approval process and building permit
issuance at City Hall took place. Bureaucracy within the planning process is causing delays which impact
customer service, with too many interactions with staff to obtain the necessary approvals, which is delaying
projects.
The Committee requested that Planning, Building and Engineering staff provide a presentation regarding process
at the January meeting when Dan Chapman is expected to attend.
4. Food Incubator
Valerie Bradford provided a brief overview of the London, Ottawa and the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre food
incubators. The group broke out in 2 Breakout sessions to brainstorm on what a food incubator in Kitchener could
look like.
5. Downtown Business Attraction Strategy – Next meeting Preparation
Cory Bluhm asked the committee members to start thinking about a downtown business attraction strategy and in
particular asked them to think about what they would do to attract new retail. He advised that we will have a
larger discussion at the November meeting.
On motion, the meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Tracey Murray
Committee Administrator