Minutes of Business and Economic Development Committee

-
Chair and Secretary Participating Remotely
The Corporation of the Town of Orangeville
Members Present:
  • Councillor Joe Andrews
  • D. Morris
  • P. Cerveny (arrived 9:19 a.m.)
  • T. Brett
Members Absent:
  • B. Pitt (regrets)
  • L. Horne (regrets)
  • W. Edwards
Staff Present:
  • R. Phillips, Manager, Economic Development & Culture
  • B. Lusk, Administrative Assistant
  • A. Noseworthy, Co-ordinator, Marketing and Projects

1.
Call to Order
 

The members agreed to move forward with a general discussion at 8:40 a.m. without quorum.

Councillor Andrews paid tribute to Mr. Peter Renshaw for his active involvement with the Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee and the community.

2.
Disclosures of (Direct or Indirect) Pecuniary Interest
 

None.

3.
Adoption of Minutes of Previous Meeting
 

3.1
2021-03-25 Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee Minutes
 

Quorum was met at 9:19 a.m. and the previous meeting minutes were adopted.

  • Recommendation:
    Moved byP. Cerveny

    That the minutes of the following meeting are approved:

    2021-03-25 Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee Minutes

    Carried

4.
Presentations
 

4.1
Community Improvement Plan
 

R. Phillips welcomed guests Mr. Jon Hack, Director, and Ms. Lindsay Cudmore, Consultant, from Sierra Planning and Management.

J. Hack provided an overview of the goals of a Community Improvement Plan and outlined the initiatives that were in progress to develop a new Community Improvement Plan for the Town.

J. Hack advised that a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is a tool that municipalities use, under Section 28 of the Planning Act, to promote revitalization and redevelopment efforts. He said that a CIP allows municipalities to support private property development with financial or procedural incentives. J. Hack indicated that a CIP will often align with the economic development priorities and sector strategies of a municipality. He advised that the CIP process identifies the preliminary focus areas within a community, but that it is the municipality's efforts in marketing and coordination that would make the CIP actionable.

L. Cudmore said that the development of the Town's CIP would be based on studies of the community, including a thorough background review and stakeholder engagement to identify the opportunities that will be most effective for sustainable economic growth. 

J. Hack said that a public survey for Orangeville's CIP had collected 114 responses, and that the survey would be open until June 30, 2021. He also advised of presentations made to several other relevant Town committees and advised of numerous community focus groups to be held throughout the summer to gain further input.

J. Hack received comments from committee members. 

He said that a draft CIP would be forwarded to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for review and made available for public input before the draft plan could be finalized by Council.  

4.2
Staff Update
 

R. Phillips provided an update on the Fall virtual symposium. She advised that Lindsay Angelo could no longer attend and that Terry O'Reilly, well known for his CBC Radio broadcast, Under the Influence, had been engaged as the keynote speaker for the symposium on October 14, 2021.

R. Phillips said that O'Reilly's presentation, "Jump the Fence: the power of intuitive thinking" would provide business owners with ideas to creatively rethink their marketing strategies as they worked to recover from the pandemic.

R. Phillips said that to encourage visitation to the community and support local businesses, a $20 registration fee would be collected, but that registrants would be issued a $20 BIA gift certificate, redeemable at participating businesses in the downtown. She said that the Economic Development & Culture office would reimburse the BIA for all certificates redeemed.

R. Phillips introduced Ashley Noseworthy, Co-ordinator, Marketing and Projects, who joined staff in May.

She said that work on the Tourism Branding project by Aubs and Mugg was expected to be completed in the fall and that revisions to the Town's tourism section of the website would then be undertaken.

R. Phillips reported that the Economic Development & Culture office was implementing a number of other year one recommendations from the Tourism Strategy. She said that the Economic Development & Culture office had introduced tourism blogging on the website and that the Arts & Culture newsletter had been revised and was achieving significantly improved opening rates as a result. R. Phillips said that revised visitor data collection processes by the Visitor Information Centre staff had also been implemented and that improvements to tourism-oriented way-finding signage were underway. 

R. Phillips said that the Economic Development & Culture office had successfully applied to Central Counties Tourism for a grant that had made it possible for the Town to purchase a Driftscape license. R. Phillips said that the Driftscape app is available for free to visitors and enables them to interact with art installations, take historical walking tours, and encourages visitors to stay longer. She said that the app would collect additional visitor data, and that the information would be beneficial in the direction of future marketing initiatives.

Councillor Andrews asked that staff provide an update on the Driftscape app at the September 21, 2021, meeting.

5.
Items for Discussion and Reports
 

5.1
Councillor Andrews - Committee housekeeping update
 

Councillor Andrews said that he would not refill the committee Co-chair position as there were only 3-4 remaining meetings in the 2018-2022 Council Term.

5.2
Member Updates
 

D. Morris said that the Dufferin Board of Trade (DBOT) had distributed 5,695 COVID rapid test kits to 65 different businesses since May through Provincial government funding they had received. She said participating businesses are promoted as 'safe' businesses on DBOT's social media platforms and on an interactive map available through the County of Dufferin.

D. Morris reported that on August 19, the DBOT would host a golf tournament. She said that a "Think Local Market" would be held on September 14 in Shelburne.

D. Morris said that the DBOT offers outdoor meeting spaces at the Business Hub. The outdoor meeting tents allow face-to-face meetings and include access to washrooms and high-speed Internet.

P. Cerveny reported that industrial growth and investment in the GTA region as well as Canada was demonstrating a slow re-opening, compared with some countries as the pandemic evolves. He suggested that investment by certain industries could be delayed four to six months based on setbacks in supply chains. P. Cerveny said that procurement of components was a challenge for research and development groups.

T. Brett provided an update on BIA activities. He said that restaurants and retail businesses were faced with similar supply chain and staffing issues in re-opening. 

T. Brett advised that the BIA had launched a Picnic Perfect Promotion with participating downtown restaurants to entice visitors with another dining experience. He said that the program would run until August and that each picnic pack included a $5 BIA gift card redeemable at participating downtown stores. He said that the BIA would ramp up various marketing campaigns as COVID restrictions are lifted, and that the Open Sunday's campaign, street musicians, and boulevard activities, would be implemented to reignite downtown activity.

T. Brett said that the Better Together Task Force had held a Call for Artists to select a new interactive mural for the east side of 114 Broadway. The selected artwork will celebrate Orangeville's heritage with an Opera House theme. 

T. Brett said that the Farmers' Market opened on May 8th and that compared to the first 6 market days in 2019, the 2021 market days had, on average, increased by 21% in attendance, and the average sales per market had increased by 16%.

6.
Correspondence
 

None.

7.
New Business
 

None.

8.
Date of Next Meeting
 

The next meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2021.

9.
Adjournment
 

Meeting adjourned at 10:22 a.m.

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