HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 2001-12-19 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
December 19, 2001
11:00 am- 1:00 pm
Conestoga Room, Main Floor, Kitchener City Hall
Attendance: Glenn Scheels Ray Robinson
Jane Jantzi Lawrence Bingeman
Peter Benninger Hans Pottkamper
Scott Baird Jeff Willmer
Mike Sully Peter Cook
Staff: George Borovilos Sandy Curzon
Kathy Bissell Rob Morgan
Patricia Bacon Jeff Bannon
Regrets: Councillor, Christina Weylie Manfred Conrad
Councillor, Berry Vrbanovic Shawky Fahel
Councillor, John Smola Mayor, Carl Zehr
Henrik Noesgaard Brock Stanley
1. Approval of Minutes of November 28, 2001
Change: Item #3; Remove Scott Baird and Jeff Willmer from Working Group
Minutes of November 28th, 2001 were approved.
Moved by Hans Pottkamper
Seconded by Jeff Willmer
Carried
2. Benchmarking
Kathy Bissell indicated that today's presentation will focus on external benchmarking
which includes assessment growth; available industrial land; building permit values and
assessment base ratios.
Rob Morgan reviewed the presentation with Committee. Nine communities that
Kitchener has historically been compared to were surveyed. Those communities which
responded, were Cambridge, Waterloo, Oakville and Guelph.
During the presentation, Committee were encouraged to comment and ask questions
which included:
Is it worthwhile to engage a specialist to breakdown into perameters
Are we looking at the best measurements? Some are more important than
others i.e. Building permit value and employment
Is there a difference between municipalities when applying mill rates to
industrial, residential and commercial
In the U.S., tax level is on residential (carries industrial taxes)
Action: > Engage in outside assistance
> Check out Oakville's approach
> Report back to Committee
3. CTT Land Task Force Study
Now that the study is a public document, the next step is the implementation of the
recommendations. It was noted that the Airport lands were not included in the
follow-up items. Committee felt that the report did not provide anything new that
has not already been discussed in previous reports.
Action: The working group - Hans Pottkamper, Lawrence Bingeman and Henrik
Noesgaard to meet with Chamber of Commerce and representatives from
Waterloo Economic Development Advisory Committee to ensure the
implementation of specified initiatives.
Working group can then, through EDAC, make a recommendation to forward to
City Council.
4. Victoria Street Update
A public hearing was attended primarily of neighbourhood residents in the King and
Lawrence Street area. Majority of residents opposed the widening of Victoria Street
to four lanes.
Project Team met on December 18th and supported four lanes without bike lanes
however needs Regional Planning Committees' support. Report goes to Regional
Planning Committee on February 3rd.
5. Other Business
~ Business & Education Launch January 30th
Motion to Adjourn: Scott Baird
Second: Mike Sully
Carried
Meeting adjourned at 1:00p.m.
Sandy Curzon, Recording Secretary
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 23rd, 2001
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Conestoga Room, 1St Floor, City Hall
EDAC Minutes 2
December 19, 2001