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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Development - 2002-02-27 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 27th, 2002 11:00 am- 1:00 pm Conestoga Room, Main Floor, Kitchener City Hall Attendance: Councillor, Christina Weylie Hans Pottkamper Jane Jantzi Mayor, Carl Zehr Peter Benninger Manfred Conrad Scott Baird Jeff Willmer Mike Sully Peter Cook Staff: George Borovilos Brock Stanley Sandy Curzon Kathy Bissell Patricia Bacon Regrets: Glenn Scheels Councillor, Berry Vrbanovic Shawky Fahel Ray Robinson Henrik Noesgaard Councillor, John Smola Lawrence Bingeman Christina Weylie, Co-Chair introduced Joan Euler as a representative to the Economic Development Advisory Committee from the Downtown Advisory Committee. EDAC members introduced themselves and welcomed Ms. Euler. 1. Approval of Minutes of January 23rd, 2002 Minutes of January 23rd, 2002 were approved with the following clarification: Item #1: It was noted, under the new Committee Structure that a member of City Council is appointed Co-chair who will work with Committee Chair, therefore no need for a Vice Chair as in the past. Item #4: Last paragraph - add Hans Pottkamper to the list of volunteers. Moved by Scott Baird Seconded by Hans Pottkamper Carried 2. Business & Education Partnership Jane Jantzi gave Committee a brief history of how the program got started then introduced Paula Crow, Program Manager for Business & Education Partnership. The Business & Education Partnership of Waterloo Region was officially launched in January 2002. Business and community organizations, public and post-secondary education institutions and HRDC who have allocated financial and human resources support the program. The goal of the Business & Education Partnership is to facilitate collaboration and build alliances among business, education and training, about, government and community organizations. One of the main focuses is to improve school to life transition by enhancing employability and life skills; assisting students in identifying and pursuing personal and career goals; and promoting lifelong learning. It was noted that 70% of students do not go to university. So far, two programs have been set up: · Speakers Bureau - 60 business individuals from the Waterloo Region have made themselves available to speak to students, the bulk of which are in grade ten. To be involved in this program would take one hour, once a year of your time. Ms. Crow ask Committee for those who wish to be involved to contact her directly or register at www.bus-edpartnership.org · Passport to Prosperity - funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The goal is to increase employer participation in experiential learning programs ie. Co-operative education, job shadowing and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program. 3. Victoria Street South Councillor Weylie, because of the discussion concerning the widening of Victoria Street between King and Lawrence, encouraged Committee to attend the Region's Planning & Culture Committee meeting of March 5, 2002. The current recommendation is to have two lanes between Park and Lawrence on Victoria Street, which will not alleviate a bottleneck in traffic resulting in the use of sidestreets within residential areas. As a mixed-use corridor, Victoria Street has the potential for intensification. Since Kitchener does not have an alternative east/west arterial road other than Victoria, it is expected that traffic problems will continue to increase over the years. 4. Business Development George Borovilos informed Committee that Council has requested a report on the assessment of CTT as it relates to Kitchener. On March 18th, Kathy Bissell will be presenting to Council the New Directions that Business Development is taking to identify our current role and future directions. Kathy Bissell, using PowerPoint, reviewed Business Development as it relates to: a) Current Activities- Public Relations; Networks; CTT; Committees; Events; Projects; Delegations; Inquiries; Facilitation; Business Parks; Corporate Visitation Program; Land Sales; and Presentations EDAC Minutes February 27, 2002 b) New Activities - Business Directory Analysis; Business Expansion Activity; Strategic Alliances; Export Development; Customer Service Enhancement Team; Performance Measurements; Workforce Development; and Government Funding Mayor Zehr requested input from the Committee about their perspective on CTT. After a lengthy discussion surrounding their mandate, external marketing and potential service duplication, it was decided that CTT be invited to a future meeting of EDAC to present their business plan. 5. Other Business Nil Motion to Adjourn: Hans Pottkamper Second: Jane Jantzi Carried Meeting adjourned at 1:00p.m. Sandy Curzon, Recording Secretary Economic Development Advisory Committee Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 27t~', 2002 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Conestoga Room, 1St Floor, City Hall EDAC Minutes February 27, 2002