Minutes of Business and Economic Development Committee

-
Chair and Secretary Participating Remotely
The Corporation of the Town of Orangeville
Members Present:
  • Councillor Joe Andrews
  • B. Pitt, Greater Dufferin Home Builders' Association
  • L. Horne, Orangeville Real Estate Board, (8:40 a.m.)
  • T. Brett, Orangeville BIA
  • W. Edwards, Public Member
Members Absent:
  • D. Morris, Dufferin Board of Trade, (regrets)
  • P. Cerveny, Public Member
Staff Present:
  • R. Phillips, Manager, Economic Development & Culture
  • B. Lusk, Administrative Assistant
  • L. Russell, Senior Planner, Planning
  • C. Hann, Co-ordinator, Digital Services

1.
Call to Order
 

Councillor Andrews called the meeting to order at 8:34 a.m.

2.
Disclosures of (Direct or Indirect) Pecuniary Interest
 

None.

3.
Adoption of Minutes of Previous Meeting
 

                                                     

3.1
2021-06-22 Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee Minutes
 

R. Phillips provided a follow-up on the Driftscape app that had been launched on June 28. She said that during July and August an average of 310 users per month accessed Driftscape from the Town's website and that a total of 187 unique users had directly accessed the app from Driftscape.

R. Phillips said that Driftscape continually adds new partners and that as of September, it had 34,000 users - which potentially increases visibility to Orangeville attractions. 

She said that the most visited features in Orangeville had been the Footsteps from our Past historic walking tour and the Credit Valley Conservation Area.

  • Recommendation:
    Moved byB. Pitt

    That minutes of the following meeting are approved:

    2021-06-22 Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee Minutes

    Carried

4.
Presentations
 

4.1
Digital Main Street Program
 

R. Phillips said that through partnership with the Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA) and the Province of Ontario, the Economic Development & Culture office had delivered two very successful Digital Main Street (DMS) Programs since 2019.

She said that $177,500 in funding had been distributed to 71 recipients in Dufferin BIA communities to date and that a third round of the program was now available.

Ms. Christine Hann, Co-ordinator, Digital Services, introduced the Digital Transformation (DTG) Grant 3.0.  She explained the eligibility criteria for small businesses to participate and advised of the grants available to eligible businesses.

C. Hann said that 17 applicants had already pre-qualified for DTG 3.0 and were working on their transformation plans. She said one Orangeville business had already received its grant from OBIAA.

C. Hann said DTG 3.0 applications would be open until October 31, 2021. 

4.2
Development Activity in Orangeville
 

Ms. Larysa Russell, Senior Planner, Planning Division, demonstrated the use of the Planning app on the Town's website. She highlighted some of the current development and proposed applications in Orangeville and advised of the colour coding used to identify stages of the approval process. 

L. Russell said that the length of the planning process to completion depends on the number of steps required. She said that planners are required to follow strict planning processes for land use changes which lengthens the processing time for some applications. She said that site plan applications can take less time when the building footprint is minimal.

L. Russell said that the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) has authority over Council for any applications that come under appeal.

5.
Items for Discussion and Reports
 

5.1
Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee Representation on Official Plan Steering Committee
 

R. Phillips said that since the last committee meeting, Council had passed a motion requiring a representative of the Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee (BEDAC) to be included on the Town's Official Plan Steering Committee. 

She advised that she had circulated the request to all committee members and that Ms. Wendy Edwards had offered to represent BEDAC.

R. Phillips said that this nomination had been forwarded to the September 13 Council meeting, pending verification by the Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee.

R. Phillips asked for a motion to recommend that W. Edwards be appointed as the BEDAC representative on the Town's Official Plan Steering Committee. 

  • Recommendation:
    Moved byL. Horne

    That Ms. Wendy Edwards be appointed as the Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee representative to the Town of Orangeville Official Plan Steering Committee.

    Carried

5.2
2022 Committee Work Plan
 

Councillor Andrews and R. Phillips presented the draft Committee Work Plan for 2022. R. Phillips said that the plan would be submitted to Council at its November 22nd meeting, and she invited members to provide their input.

R. Phillips said that the Economic Development & Culture office would continue to support implementation of the Covid-19 Business Recovery Plan in 2022 and that progress reports on the implementation of the Economic Development and Tourism Strategies would be provided. She advised that priority actions identified within the two strategies guide divisional goals and objectives.

R. Phillips suggested that off-site business tours may be an option in 2022 but said that visitations would be subject to COVID-19 restrictions and business owners' availability as they emerge from pandemic restrictions. 

Councillor Andrews said that continuing to receive sectoral updates from each member is important in helping to understand the trends, challenges, opportunities, and successes within each sector.

5.3
Member Updates
 

L. Horne reported that 23 homes were currently on the market in Orangeville ranging in price from $649,000 to $1,750,000.

L. Horne said that in the past 90 days, 162 properties had sold, and 394 in the past six months.

L. Horne said a recent change to mortgage lending policies now allows non-related people to pool their resources to purchase a home. 

R. Phillips asked L. Horne if she would include commercial property updates in future reports. 

T. Brett said that the BIA had installed 25 removable non-slip sidewalk decals throughout the downtown area. The Better Together Task Force spearheaded the initiative to promote "Thanks for Shopping Local".

He said that a recent sidewalk sale had been a huge success with lots of merchants participating and a noticeable increase in foot traffic during the two-day event. 

T. Brett said the weekly farmers' market had experienced a 19% increase in attendance and an 8.3% increase in total vendor sales over the last 18 months.

T. Brett announced that the interactive mural installed at 114 Broadway featuring Theatre Orangeville was being enjoyed by visitors.

B. Pitt said that home builders are extremely busy and like many other sectors, are challenged with labour shortages. He said that lumber prices which had inflated by 400 - 600% throughout the pandemic were falling back to normal again. 

R. Koekkoek said that Orangeville Hydro continues to complete capital reconstruction projects in town. He said that accessing required component materials for infrastructure is challenging. He said that they are ordering further in advance and reaching out to other electric utilities for spare materials.   

Councillor Andrews advised that a hybrid delivery model was being used for elementary and secondary schools. He said that post-secondary education was also using a combination of online delivery and in-classroom instruction.

Councillor Andrews said that the DBOT was planning a tribute and room dedication to the late Peter Renshaw.

6.
Correspondence
 

None.

7.
New Business
 

B. Pitt asked about the progress of Wightman installations in town. 

R. Phillips advised that Wightman had launched high speed installations in October 2020 in the industrial park. She said that she would attempt to secure an update for the December meeting.

R. Phillips said that a virtual symposium featuring Terry O'Reilly would be delivered on October 14, 2021. She advised that a registration fee of $20 was being charged, but that in return, a $20 BIA voucher redeemable at participating downtown restaurants would be provided in an effort to support downtown food establishments with their recovery efforts. R. Phillips welcomed members to accept a complementary registration by contacting B. Lusk.

R. Phillips said that the 2021 Economic Outlook Summit with keynote speaker James Marple, Director and Senior Economist at TD, would be held on November 2 at 8:30 a.m. She invited members to contact staff to register.

7.1
2022 meeting schedule
 

2022 BEDAC meeting dates will be March 22, June 21, and September 20 (TBC).

8.
Date of Next Meeting
 

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

9.
Adjournment
 

Meeting adjourned at 9:57 a.m.

No Item Selected