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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBusiness & Ind - 1995-01-19BIAC\1995-01-19 BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1995 PRESENT: Mike Hiscott (Chat'), Carl Zehi; L inda Kieswetter, Atso Saarkoppel, Richard Lewchuk, Dan Beach, Councillors Tom Galloway, Mike Wagner and Berry Vrbanovic. ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Richard Chiqsty, Chiqs Maziarz, Tim McCabe, Kevin Matthews, Tom McKay, Valerie Gibaut~ George Borovilos, and Jane Jantzi REGRETS: Tito Guglielmi, Martha George, John Tibbits, David l~'eure, and Wayne Hussey RECORDER: Sandy Curzon 1. Department of Planning and Development Reorganization Tim McCabe, General Manager of the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Kitchener provided an overview of the reorganizational shq~cture that the former Planning and Development Department has undertaken since the reth'ement of Sam Klapman, Commissioner. Under the old organizational chart there were four dh'ectors who headed theh' own individual division and reported to the Commissioner. In May of 1994, Nh'. McCabe was appointed to his new position as General Manager and Brock Stanley, Assistant General Manager. By July of 1994, the total reorganization of the department was in effect~ With sLxty-seven positions, most of which are unionized, thirty-five underwent change. It was noted that there were no layoffs due to the reorganization, however $100,000 was saved thi'ough salaries and benefit~ kVh'. McCabe formed a Management Team within the department which set them-selves a Est of objectives which are outlined on pages one and two of the PD 94/63 Staff Report (see attached). Carl Zehi' entered the meeting BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES It became apparent that the overall reorganization of the Department of Planning and Development created distinct functional service areas, minimized duplication, consolidated administ~'ation responsibilities including budgets, t~'aJning, computer needs, secretarial support and supervisio~ With cross-t~'aJning the reorganization has st~'engthened the ability of the employees to better serve the department, thus the pubhc and community at large. One of the priorities of the newly organized department is to develop a St~'ategic Plan which will provide a vision of where the department intends to be within the next five years With this respect, Council and staff will be asked for theh' input on areas of st~'engths and weaknesses of the department, ~V[r. McCabe commented that the planning pohcies as they exist today need to become more flexible in order to achieve theh' overall goals ~V[r. McCabe and his staff have committed themselves to a better communication link with business Dan Beach, who has dealt with Planning staff on various projects felt that the coordination of technical problems (storm water management, landscaping plans, etc.) were areas of concern that need to be improved upon - currently it could take up to two months to get a building per, nit, ~V[r. McCabe inlbrmed Committee that these problems have been under review by the Continuous Improvement PI'ogram (Cq]P) for the past year and a half. The results of this review will be tabled in a future report to the Planning & Economic Development Committee. Nh'. McCabe st~'essed that the newly organized department is committed to making IGtchener a better place to do business Mayors Task Force Economic Development Division January 19, 1995. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES Mayor Richard Christy addi'essed Committee on what became an election issue -Downtown Revitalizatio~ It became apparent that the Downtown was an area of concern for the enth'e community. Mayor Christy will be making a public announcement at the Council meeting scheduled for January 93, 1995 as to the approach he will take to make the City of Kitchener's downtown a safer core. He welcomed group input from outside organization~ Mayor Chiqsty indicated that projects currently underway will not be comprised by the Task Force. The Downtown Action Committee will table any reports from this proposal prior to being approved at the Council level A revisit of capital budget items will be undertaken in order that the initiatives be implemented. ~V[r. Hiscott confh~ned with Mayor Chiqsty tha~ in consideration of the Mayor's Task Force, Business and Industry Advisory Committee will not addi'ess downtown concerns unless specifically requested by the Mayor. Councillor Wagner entered meeting 3. Minutes of December 8, 1994 Moved by Tom Galloway Seconded by Richard Lewchuck That the minutes of December 8, 1994 be adopted Carried 4. Site Plans Economic Development Division January 19, 1995. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES Dan Beach, who has dealt with several municipahties on behalf of developers adch'essed concerns with the steps in going through the proces~ These steps were largely due with achieving the conditions such as storm water management and landscaping plans to name a few. The lack of communication between departments was apparent given the example with respect to the Church on Bleams Road, however the lack of communication at times also extends to the architects and developers~ Currently there k a 'buddy system' in place where a building project co-ordinator k appointed who becomes a direct liaison between the applicant and the City. This seems to be working well according to ~Vh'. McCabe. It was felt that the Cll° final report will adch'ess these issue~ Mr. McCabe offered to report back to Committee the results of this report. ~Vh'. McCabe left the meeting 5. Small Business Centre Kevin Matthews, Small Business CounceHor gave Committee an overview of the Small Business office located in City Hall ~Vh'. Matthews k a contract employee who administers a program set out by the Ministry of Economic Development & Trade. The City has entered into a partnership with the Ministry which oversees the program and supplies the resources needed to run the program, ~Vh'. Matthews gave Committee an overview of the consultations, seminars, general inquiries, and presentations du~qng the past year which have increased by 187o over 1993. It was suggested that a system be put into place where entrepreneurs who have actually started a business after visiting the centre can be accounted for. ~Vh'. Matthews felt that by his experience, and with no system in place, approxi-mately 107O of the total yearly inquiries come from existing regional businesse~ His function k the inlbrmation gathe~qng stage. Once the enquiry has left the centre there k currently no tracking system in place. Economic Development Division January 19, 1995. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES Seminars conducted give the entrepreneur a one-on-one opportunity with bankers, accountants, and lawyers at a minimal cost, V. Gibaut has met with the Ministry and other municipahties who are partners in the Small Business PI'ogram, She will extend an invitation to Nh'. Peter lqYeidman, F~xecutive I)h'ector, Small Business, Ministry of Economic Development & Trade to attend an upcoming committee meeting. Nh'. Matthews left the meeting 6. BIAC/WEDC Joint Meeting The Waterloo Economic Development Committee and the Kitchener Business and Industry Advisory Committee met once in 1994. It was suggested that the WEI)C be approached to have a joint meeting in Ap~ql or May. Nh'. Hiscott asked individual members of BIAC to forward agenda items to his attentio~ 7. Huron Community Plan George Borovilos gave Committee a summary of the Huron Community Plan 1500 acre parcel which includes the Huron Business Park, the Huron Natural Park and privately owned indust~qal and residential lan& It was pointed out that the challenge of this area is to balance the natural areas and sell indust~qal lan& 8. Land Sales Economic Development Division January 19, 1995. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES Valerie Gibaut indicated that an Offer to Purchase for Parts 6 & 7 in Lancaster Corporate Centre is anticipated within the next few week~ A local accounting institution plans to erect a 9-storey, 37,000 sq.f~ building with future expansion requirement~ SLx months ago, the purchaser was quoted a price of $175,000 per acre for the 9.9 acre parcel based on market value. 9. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Trade Show George Borovilos intbrmed Committee that due to the upturn of the automotive sector. The Economic Development Division will take part in the SAE Show, February 97-March 9, 1995 in Detroit Michiga~ Out of the twenty-two local automotive suppliers in town Mitchell Plastics and Epton Indust~qes have agreed to participate in the trade show with the City of Kitchener. It is estimated that du~qng the four days the show will host 100,000 visitor~ 10. Sidewalk Policy Jane Jantzi introduced the Di'aft Sidewalk Policy currently under review as it relates to the Municipal Plato The question of who would be responsible for the cost and maintenance of the sidewalks in the indust~qal parks was discussed at great lengtl~ It was felt that the pohcy would be a negative factor in the sale of land in the business park~ Moved by Carl Zehr Seconded by Atso Saarkoppel That non-residential development be exempt from the sidewalk policy. Carried Economic Development Division January 19, 1995. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES Tom Galloway left the meeting 11. Business Heritage This years Business He~qtage event which will honour businesses 75 years old and older will take place November 15-16, 1995. Those persons from Committee wishing to assist in the planning stages of this event are asked to contact the Economic Development Divisio~ Other Business V. Gibaut updated Committee on the following activities Business Retention - the Division will devote time to encouraging local businesses to increase theh' involvement in export programs and become 'export ready'. b) Investor l:q'ofiles - it appears there is a need for inlbrmation to be gathered with respect to investment opportunitie~ Staff will coordinate with other groups currently attempting to match investor needs with opportunitie~ c) CTTA Initiative - Contained within the Federal Government's "Agenda Jobs and Growth" brochure k reference to the Canadian Community Improvement Plan (CCq~P) which is a dh'ect result of the Community Business Plan proposed to the Federal Government by Larry Zepf and his team, It appears that in the next budge~ 8 pilot projects will be announced Economic Development Division J~nu~ry 19, 1995. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE - MINUTES for the CCH), hopefully one in ClX. The concern of Cl~A is that as Canada's Technology Triangle is not a legally constituted entity, we might be in danger of losing it to others who are. In that respect~ steps are being taken to establish a non- share capital corporation which will utilize existing community facilitie~ It was agreed that this step will formalize the network of community resources within for the long term prosperity of ClX. Meeting adjourned 1:90 pm Next Meeting: Thursday, February 9, 1995 11:00 mm. - 1:00 p.m. Council Lounge, ~nd Floor Kitchener City Hall Economic Development Division January 19, 1995.