Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBusiness & Ind - 1993-04-15BIAC\1993-04-15 BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1993 PRESENT: Mike Hiscott (Chairman), Atso Saarkoppel, Dan Beach, Martha George, Tito Gughelmi, John Tibbits, Jim McCutcheon, Alderman Mike Wagner, Wayne Hussey, George Borovilos, Jane Jantzi and Valerie Gibaut ABSENT: Claude Schneider, David lqYeure, Jerry Mclnnis and Alderman Carl Zehi' RECORDER: Sandy Curzon 1. Meeting was called to order at 11:05 a~m~ Future Meetings Chah' intbrmed Committee that the scheduled meeting for Thursday, May 13th has been changed to Thursday, May ~0th. Chah' thanked John Tibbits who volunteered to host this meeting of which details will follow. The scheduled meeting of Thursday, June 10th will be at Deer Ridge Golf Club. Those interested in playing golf after the meeting at theh' own expense, are asked to notify Sandy Curzon at 741-9999 prior to June 3rd. 3. Minutes of March 18th were accepted. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES 4. Adaptive Re-Use of Industrial Buildings Committee Alderman Mike Wagner reported on the Terms of Reference and the progress that the Adaptive Re-Use Committee has made to-date on this unique concept. It k believed that no other municipality has taken this pro-active approach to vacant propertie~ Members of the committee consist of staff from various Departments, elected officials, and representatives from the private sector - Planning consultants, Architects and developers~ The Committee k focusing on identifying all the constraints to the owner in redevelopment of each property, with the intention of prepa~4ug a profile of each, which in turn will help the owner to market the property. Two existing vacant buildings have been selected as test cases and meetings are being held with the owners to ensure theh' support thi'oughout the proces~ Alderman Wagner reiterated that this k partnership approach k an important integral step in both ensu~qng the retention of some of Kitchener's more historic indust~qal buildings, and assisting in downtown revitalization, although the concept k not rest~qcted to downtow~ Tito Guglielmi entered the meeting Wayne Hussey entered meeting 5. Terms of Reference Chah' reviewed the Business & Industry Advisory Committee Terms of Reference with Committee. The Chairman noted that under the heading "Reporting PI'ocedure" Item 1 states that the Committee shall report semi-annually on the activities of the Committee to the Planning and Economic Development Committee. It was agreed that as the new Committee has no specific activities to report at this time, there would be no presentation to P.E.D. until year-end. Under "Power and D~ties" Item #6 - Wayne Hussey identified a pro-active approach which the committee could consider related to the Universities' technology exchange program with local businesses, Various suggestions were made to improve the method of communication and it was suggested that a one-day symposium/lbrum could be considered. It was suggested that Ted Cross, Associate I)h'ector , Office of Technology Transfer and Licensing at the University of Waterloo be invited to an upcoming meeting. April 15, 1993. Economic Development Division BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES ~V[r. Hussey continued by identifying the Educational Excellence Committee's Mandate which is to make our Region the cent~'e of educational excellence. To help achieve this we have to encourage relocation by creating incentives Staff will prepare a (h'aft letter to be sent to the Education F~xcellence Committee to discuss possible partnemhips with Waterloo regarding promotion of educational excellence. The question of marketing the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo was discusse& It was mentioned that the existing Kitchener video is out of date and should be replaced at some time. In this regard, staff did approach Waterloo staff with the suggestion that a joint video be considered, however through theh' Economic Development Committee, it had ah'eady been agreed to approach local businesses to sohcit funds which the City would match, and produce theh' own video. To staffs' knowledge, this video is now in the process of being produce& It was suggested that possibly a joint meeting could be arranged with the WEDC and the Aldermen present were asked theh' opinio~ It was generally felt that there would be no objection from Kitchener, however approaches have been made in the past with little result After further discussion, it was decided to discuss the matter further at a future meeting. 6. New Business D. Beach, on behalf of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, did a survey on development costs and how Kitchener compares with the rest of the Regiom Nh'. Beach felt that the comparison would help Committee undemtand the current costs related to development in the regiom A news release from the City of East York which states "To att~'act new business and help existing businesses expand, the Council of the Borough of East York has approved a zero cost package" was also dist~qbuted for Committee review. After a lengthy di~ussion, Committee felt that location is the fhst decision made when a company relocates, costs become secondary; Businesses looking at expanding are not complaining about the current costs and; If we slash levies, we have to slash land prices April 15, 1993. Economic Development Division BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES V. Gibaut distaqbuted copies of the Economic Development Division month-end report for March 1993. It was noted that for June, the Economic Development Staff are planning to make changes to the report~ making it easier to review. G. Borovilos reviewed the number of new enquiries which have seen a significant change since January. Meeting adjourned at 19:40 p.m~ Next Meeting: Thursday, May ~0, 1993 11:00 mm. - 1:00 p.m. Conestoga College, Guild Room ~99 Doon Valley Drive, Kitchener (See attached map) April 15, 1993. Economic Development Division