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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEcon Dev Adv 2009-09-23 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 23, 2009 City of Kitchener The Economic Development Advisory Committee met this date, chaired by Jeremy Auger; with the following members were in attendance: Councillor Christina Weylie, Councillor John Smola, Steven Voll, Ian Cook, Peter Benninger, Mark Bingeman, Bob Denton, Dan Piedra, Bernie Nimer, Adrian Conrad, Rebecca Short, Mark Collins, Len Carter, Brent Richardson The following people sent their regrets: Howie Budd, Alan Anderson Staff in attendance: Rod Regier, Tracey DeVille, Janette MacDonald, Valerie Bradford, Diane Garrington 1. Approval of Minutes Discussion took place regarding the June meeting, with questions surrounding the Code of Conduct issue. It was requested that the Committee be provided with more clarification surrounding this issue. The Committee also requested that the discussion surrounding the Parking Strategy be brought back to a future meeting for further discussion. On motion, the Committee approved the minutes of the June 24, 2009 and the August 26, 2009 meetings. 2. Staff introduction Rod Regier introduced Diane Garrington, Market Manager. He advised the committee that Diane was previously the Manager of the Farmer’s Market in St. Catherine’s as well as their corporate communications specialist. Item 2.1 Accessible Customer Service Rod Regier introduced Pamela Albrecht, Accessibility Standards Trainer with the City of Kitchener. Ms. Albrecht provided a detailed presentation on the upcoming legislation surrounding the accessibility standards that will become mandatory for the private sector as well as the public sector and any volunteers that may be part of either sector. The Committee had the following feedback: With 55% of adults unemployed in this category, is there a way to measure the type of disability they may have? ? It is difficult to measure since some of the participants in the survey may be self identifying or may have a temporary disability such as a broken arm; however, more research will be done and information provided as available. Are accessibility rules changing for current buildings? ? Yes, the rules are changing for current buildings and there is currently a public document on the ministries website where you can review and comment on the document What does this mean for websites? ? Information and Communications Standards will cover this area How does Ontario relate to other provinces? ? We are the first province to implement this; however, we are about 15 years behind the United States. Is the city going to have any assistance for the business community? ? We can look to see if there are any future opportunities Will there be an expiry on the training we have received today? ? There are no standards for retraining at this point; however, it is important to ensure that new employees receive the training What will the standards be for public transit? ? There are no standards as of yet. What about areas where there may be conflicts with other regulating bodies? ? Currently unsure but would direct you to any associations you may be associated with In regards to the policy will it be rolled out at once or will it be done section by section? ? The entire policy will take effect for the public sector on January 1, 2010 and the private sector in 2012. Is the training we just received the basic scope of what is required for us to train our own employees? ? Yes Are their external resources for the training or do we need to have our own in- house trainer? ? More information regarding that is available on the Ministry’s website. Item 2.2 Economic Reality Check Janette MacDonald provided the Committee with a presentation on the following: ? Labour Force ? Real Estate ? Construction Ms. MacDonald asked the Committee for feedback on the presentation, in particular, for future communication regarding the local economy, Ms. MacDonald asked the Committee to clarify what is relevant for them and what they would like to know more about. ? Trends instead of raw data ? Number of people impacted by changes – actual jobs ? Comparison of our local employment compared to other areas ? Salary changes and comparisons ? Age splits What is the message that we want to put out there to the community? There are many leading business representatives on this committee and we need to take advantage of the potential positive feedback that members could be putting out there. ? Ms. MacDonald advised the committee that the main reason that the Economic Reality Check was added to the agenda as an ongoing item was to educate the committee as ambassadors with positive information. There was a suggestion that the Committee develop a communication method, such as a press release, to endorse the positive; however, there were members that did not agree with this and the question of the purpose of the committee was raised. There was a general consensus that the committee ensure they are fulfilling the purpose and scope of the committee mandate. The Committee would like to review the mandate and Mr. Regier advised that the Terms of Reference Sub-Committee will be meeting again to update and discuss the mandate for accuracy and bring it back to the entire Committee for discussion and comment. Item 2.3 Corporate Visitation Valerie Bradford advised that the Corporate Visitation breakfast was held on September 22, 2009 and attendance was good. She handed out the report and asked the Committee members to think of potential sectors to focus on for next year. On motion The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.