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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBusiness & Ind - 1994-01-13BIAC\1994-01-13 BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 1994 PRESENT: Mike Hiscott (Chah'), Atso Saarkoppel, Dan Beach, John Tibbits, David lqYeure, Martha George, Tito Guglielmi, Wayne Hussey, Councillor Mike Wagner, Councillor Christina Weylie, Councillor Tom Galloway, and Councillor Carl Zehi' ALSO PRESENT: Elliott Currie, Tom McKay, Valerie Gibauk and Jane Jantzi REGRETS: Jim McCutcheon, and Claude Schneider RECORDER: Sandy Curzon 1. Minutes of December 9, 1993 The minutes of December 9, 1993 were adopted Land Sales Update V. Gibaut intbrmed Committee that Canada Fineblanking is in receipt of the City of Kitchener's proposal which is being reviewed by theh' consultants Walter Fedy. kV[r. Shniffer k currently awaiting a decision and has been asked to be contacted once a deal k to be offered. Discussion continued regarding IV[r. Shniffer and his disappointment at being refused the re-zoning application on the 'pork chop' property. 3. "We care about Business"- Scarborough brochure V. Gibaut expressed a need to take a proactive approach to businesses - show them that they are 'loved'. PI'esently she participating in a Continuous Improvement PI'ogram Committee (Cq])) which includes other city staff and members of the private sector to look at the BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES development process from site plan to pre-building per, nit approvals and to adch'ess delays in the proces~ A review of Scarborough's brochure lead Committee to realize that Kitchener needs to toot its own hor~ Even though CH) will produce changes, they are not of any use unless we advertise our accomplishment~ This can be done through a similar type brochure/campaig~ D. Beach inlbrmed Committee that he recently apphed for a building per, nit in Mississauga which eventually took 3 months to complete. Even though he k familiar with the procedures in Kitchener, he felt a 'road map' through the process would help the one-time apphcanb It was a generally agreed that Kitchener staff are better than those of most other municipalities in the regio~ T. McKay gave Committee a recent example where a company assumed it was City staff that was responsible for a work stoppage on theh' building when in fact the consultant for the company in question was responsible. Committee agreed that a brochure/campaign was worth pursuing. 5/k George suggested that there be two separate brochures, one for existing businesses and one for new businesse~ It was recommended that Economic Development explore the possibility of developing a 'road map', which could walk developers through the process on building issue~ Further discussion took place with reference to Development Charges compa~qng examples of rates used in other municipalitie~ Martha George left the meeting 4. Oktoberfest Partnership Proposal Economic Development Division January 1~ 1994. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES W. Hussey presented Committee with a proposal for the City of Kitchener and Oktobe~est Inc. to join forces with the purpose "to increase the economic development potential of the Festival and to use Oktobe~est as an Economic Development tool". The City of Kitchener would be responsible to identify and invite key corporate and business prospects and theh' spouses who would receive "considerable VIP attention". Mr. Hussey pointed out that the proposal was also submitted to the Municipal Grants PI'ogram for funding. An attempt was also made to present the proposal to the City of Waterloo, however no suitable meeting had been arrange& After further discussion, Committee agreed that the proposal was a good idea and that Nh'. Hussey meet with Economic Development Staff to review cost~ Motioned by Councillor Mike Wagner Seconded by Dan Beach That the City of Kitchener join in partnership with Oktobe~est Inc. in this initiative and make a recommendation to Kitchener City Council 5. Commercial and Industrial Taxes and Assessment ~Vk Hiscott pointed out that this item was put on the agenda because of letters received from local businesse~ Economic Development Division January 1~ 1994. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES Councillor Zehi' offered to provide a report for Committee to review, from the Fair Taxation Commission which deals with revamping how businesses are taxe& T. McKay felt that the City of Kitchener's taxes were comparable to other cities in the regio~ It was noted that when compa~qng other municipalities one needs also to look at what you get in services to ensure you are compa~qng 'apples to apples'. It was suggested that business and residential tax payers be inlbrmed of how their taxes are spenL Councillors present were asked whether they felt that tax/assessment was part of the mandate of this Committee. It was discussed and decided that even though Committee may not be able to change the system, they have the responsibility to investigate it and be responsible for the outcome. It became clear that background inlbrmation and facts needed to be presented for further discussion in order to justify queries as those presented today. 6. Economic Development Activities V. Gibaut provided a summary of the following: 1993 Annual Report for the Economic Development Division will be available at the next meeting once it has been presented to City Council b) recent enquiry for 100,000-130,000 sqft of office space for a clerical/administration office for a manufactu~qng fh~n~ Company would prefer downtown location and would be prepared to renovate if necessary. J. Jantzi gave Committee a review of the buildings offered and will report back to Committee on the outcome. Economic Development Division January 1~ 1994. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES c) an enquiry from a group of Mount Forest investors looking to start a manufactu~qng company in Kitchener. They require a minimum of 1~,000 sqft, They have located two similar buildings that meet their c~qteria: one in Abe~oyle and one in Kitchener. When compa~qng both property and business taxes, Kitchener was approximately $1.30/sqft higher than Abe~oyle. d) Weaver Tanner Miller is looking for 1~,000 sqft of office space e) Bingo is looking at the WaJkiki property f) Aikenheads will open February 17th - open house date and time yet to be set, g) a letter was sent on behalf of BIAC to Greg Weiler with concerns that he must not be familiar with economic development activities as they were represented incorrectly in the K-W Chamber of Commerce I~'aft Report on Economic Development, CTT was asked to offer administrative support to spinoff groups such as Ciq~N; CTN; TQM; etc. These groups are at a level where they cannot continue. Economic Development Division January 1~ 1994. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES copies of Dj~,q, mie P~v£He on the Economy o£ lCates'ioo Region by Larry Smith were dist~qbuted to Committee. How the GNP inlquences economic activity was relevant thi'oughout the repor~ The message the reports sends out k that Waterloo Region k a region that works~ we are competitive. All the data in the report backs up that we are a very dynamic area despite the recessiom Thi'ough discussion it was suggested that a summary of this report would provide substantial and factual material for a pocket profile. Meeting adjourned 1:06 pm Next Meeting: Thursday, February 10, 1994 11:00 mm. - 1:00 p.m. Council Caucus, ~nd Floor Kitchener City Hall Economic Development Division January 1~ 1994.