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151013 Development MINP a g e | 1 CORPORATE OFFICE 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, Ontario, N4G 5A7, Telephone # (519) 842-6428, Fax # (519) 842-9431 Web: www.tillsonburg.ca TOWN OF TILLSONBURG DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES DATE: Tuesday, October 13, 2015 TIME: 7:30 AM LOCATION: 10 Lisgar Ave – Board Room, Customer Service Centre Committee Members in Attendance: Andrew Burns, Mike Bossy, Lisa Gilvesy, Jesse Goossens, Councillor Jim Hayes, Mayor Stephen Molnar, Randy Thornton, Cedric Tomico, John Veldman, Steve Spanjers Staff Present: David Calder, Cephas Panschow Regrets: Kirby Heckford, Lindsay Morgan, Scott McLean, Ashton Nembhard 1) Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 7:32 AM. 2) Adoption of Agenda Addition of Proposed Trail System Expansion added as item 8 (a) R. Thornton – 1st L. Gilvesy – 2nd “Carried” 3) Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest None P a g e | 2 CORPORATE OFFICE 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, Ontario, N4G 5A7, Telephone # (519) 842-6428, Fax # (519) 842-9431 Web: www.tillsonburg.ca 4) Adoption of Minutes of September 9, 2015 J. Hayes – 1st C. Tomico – 2nd “That the Minutes of September 9, 2015 be approved.” “Carried” a) Business Arising from the Minutes: None. 5) Standing Items a) Community Strategic Plan A report to Council is in the process of being prepared and will be circulated to Committee prior to going to Council. Request update presentation from Deputy Clerk at future meeting. b) Post-Secondary Education Staff advised that survey has been completed and updated to reflect additional responses. Unfortunately, only one additional respondent from agricultural sector. Based on results, there does appear to be support for businesses to work together on training needs. c) Tillsonburg Hydro Inc None. 6) New Business a) SOMA Asia Mission Further to draft and final reports circulated, staff believe that this mission is worth attending due to the investments meetings that are being scheduled as well as signature events. The turning point in considering this mission was the potential to welcome THK’s investment in Tillsonburg. Mayor commented that these types of mission are a lot of work as evidenced by the draft schedule and especially because of the shorter duration of Tillsonburg’s participation compared to other communities. However, it is important to take advantage of the potential investment opportunities for Tillsonburg’s benefit. J. Goossens – 1st A. Burns – 2nd “That the Town of Tillsonburg’s participation in the SOMA Asia Mission be supported as detailed in Report DCS 15-44 – SOMA Asia Mission due to the potential investment opportunities as well as support for an organization of which Tillsonburg is a member (SOMA).” “Carried” P a g e | 3 CORPORATE OFFICE 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, Ontario, N4G 5A7, Telephone # (519) 842-6428, Fax # (519) 842-9431 Web: www.tillsonburg.ca b) Report – Securing the future of Canada’s Automotive Industry Committee discussed the information referred to it by Council and release of the general details since the UNIFOR motion was brought forward to Council (Sep 28). The reduction in North American content for automotive is an area of potential concern as this means increased competition for small and medium sized (SME) automotive parts manufacturers. In general, the agreement will benefit the large corporations who are moving products around the world. What is the transition period over which these barriers will be reduced? L. Gilvesy – 1st J. Veldman – 2nd “That the Development Committee support in principle the Trans-Pacific Partnership resolution subject to the Federal Government developing a strategy related to the transition period for the automotive sector in order to mitigate impacts.” “Carried” c) Town Hall Task Force – Multi-use Opportunity J. Veldman advised that the opportunity to consider options for a new Town Hall could be a once in a 75 – 100 year opportunity. This means that it is important to consider what other uses could be accommodated within a multi-use Town Hall. These could include space for education/training, entrepreneur support space (e.g. business incubator) or even social uses (market, etc). Staff advised that the Town has released a Request for Quotation for a space needs study and this will be important in terms of determining how the Town could consolidate space and what the future needs of the Town are. At a preliminary stage in the process and there will be significant public engagement as plan is developed. Discussion was to make this a standing item for the committee. 7) Economic Development Update a) 253 Broadway Staff provided an overview of the Public Meeting held at Council on Sep 28, 2015. There were a significant number of concerns raised by neighbouring property owners although none by the property owner to the south. Concerns relate to the request for reduced parking, the already permitted 0 foot setback from the property line and the request for the reduced greenspace. Although parking proposed to be provided is approximately 50% of required amount, this is still more parking than other project in the downtown and the Developer will be required to pay cash in lieu of parking, which will enable the Town to create more parking elsewhere in the downtown. The amount of greenspace was not clear at the meeting. P a g e | 4 CORPORATE OFFICE 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, Ontario, N4G 5A7, Telephone # (519) 842-6428, Fax # (519) 842-9431 Web: www.tillsonburg.ca Applicant has provided a simplified drawing that shows the building footprint on the property, the new parking spaces being created and the green space around and on the property. The BIA is fine with their sign that is being relocated and are supportive of the project although no written correspondence has been provided in that regard. They would consider providing if needed. The primary commercial tenant is already located in the downtown and this will support their relocation and growth. They have zero parking where they are currently located. Development Committee confirmed that their original motion in support of the project still stands as they believe this will be a good project for the downtown/community. b) Employment Analysis Staff provided an overview of employment growth by sector for the years 2001, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014 and projected to 2020. 2001 was the peak for employment in Tillsonburg as well as in the manufacturing sector at 9,063 and 4,003 jobs (in Tillsonburg – Place of Work data), respectively. 2009 was the low with 7,272 jobs but this rebounded to 8,230 jobs in 2014 (an increase of 958 jobs with 571 of the job growth being in the manufacturing sector). Questions are how can we use this information and how do we get better data if the data is faulty. c) Airport Development Staff provided an update on the three new hangars approved including two private and one commercial hangar. The commercial hangar is exciting as it includes the relocation of two businesses to the Tillsonburg Regional Airport including an Approved Maintenance Organization and an agricultural spraying business. The addition of an AMO business will result in the airport becoming a one-stop shop for aircraft maintenance. Very few other airports have maintenance organizations and a paint shop. 9) Liaison Updates d) Departmental Reports None. e) Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce Trip to Italy just took place and report will be forthcoming. Chamber continues to be open to advocacy on any issues that local businesses may have. As the recent past was the first time that the MP had an office, are all candidates committed to maintaining an office in Tillsonburg? P a g e | 5 CORPORATE OFFICE 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, Ontario, N4G 5A7, Telephone # (519) 842-6428, Fax # (519) 842-9431 Web: www.tillsonburg.ca f) Downtown Business Improvement Association Turtlefest budget was revenue neutral this year. BIA’s Friday event came in under budget. 2016 budget will include funds for Signage maintenance, trees and grate replacement. Pedlar’s Quay and Sunnyside Kitchens façade projects are both underway. Christmas Crawl is the next promotion planned for Friday, December 4. Santa Claus parade is planned for November 21, 2015. g) Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board None. h) Physician Recruitment/Oxford Physician Recruitment Committee reviewed the draft website and provided comments on clarity of “More Opportunities” button, links to community profiles – e.g., demographics, education, etc. and possibly the local municipal websites, possibility of providing a newsletter option, use of local photos, and a prominent “local practices” section. 8) Roundtable Request to host an intern placement for a contact from the Harrison International Peace Hospital. The intern is already working at the Harrison Hospital in Tillsonburg’s Sister City (Heng Shui), but would like to expand knowledge and language skills with a placement here. Tillsonburg hospital has agreed to provide the internship but the contact would like to be billeted with a local family as that will help with her language skills and defray some costs. Need is for approximately one month from November 10 to December 10? Mayor raised issue of being underserviced with respect to family physicians. Ontario Ministry of Health has now provided for Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) to have input on underserviced designation. This could be good for Tillsonburg as we service the tri-county area. Chair raised issue on Syrian refugees. A few local churches are involved in this initiative. 9) Date of Next meeting 10) Adjournment R. Thornton moved that the meeting be adjourned at 9:40 AM.