The town and the local chamber of commerce will share the cost of hiring a business development coordinator who will work out of the planned creative business incubator location in Harriston.
Minutes of the Economic Development Committee meeting of Dec. 12, approved at the Dec. 17 Minto council meeting, included a recommendation to advertise for the position beginning in January.
Pay range for the position is expected to be $15 to $20 per hour depending on experience and qualifications.
Business and economic co-coordinator Mandy Jones told council the plan is for the cost of the position to be split between the town and the Minto Chamber of Commerce, with the costs being run through the town’s books. Once hired, the employee will work out of the business incubator location.
The committee also authorized council and CAO Bill White to enter into negotiations for a lease on the proposed incubator site at 1 Elora Street in Harriston.
A job description for the business development coordinator indicates the position would be a contract position, working between 120 and 140 hours per month, split evenly between the chamber and the town.
The coordinator would report to the chamber president, who would consult with the town’s business and economic development manger. The coordinator’s duties would include community outreach, recruitment activity and the process of soliciting and reviewing applications by prospective incubator tenants.
The minutes also list possible funding streams for the project in 2014:
– $30,000 from the town’s draft operating budget to cover renovations and year one of operating costs; and
– a $10,000 commitment from the chamber of commerce, with Savour the Flavours committing $2,000.
In addition, Jones pointed out Wellington County has budgeted $175,000 for economic development initiatives, with up to $25,000 available to individual municipalities, which could be applied for.
Federal Rural Economic Development (RED) grants are another possibility, the committee noted, with application deadlines set for the end of December and February.
The annual expense for the incubator is estimated at $37,760, with start-up costs estimated at $28,806.
Minto treasurer Gordon Duff told the Advertiser that, depending on the final layout, the incubator could accommodate five or six tenants. Anticipated monthly rental rates are $300 per tenant.
Duff said additional revenue could also be generated by off-site clients who would use services or space at the incubator on a flexible basis.
While the facility is initially expected to operate at a deficit, Duff said it is hoped it will eventually become at least a break-even operation.
“It’s so hard to predict,” said Duff, who compares the venture to “when the town took the gamble on the Clifford Medical Centre.
“At that time, we had to get doctors and family health teams and all that. So it’s somewhat similar to that,” Duff explained.
He said the town is currently targeting a spring start-up for the incubator and doesn’t anticipate difficulty in finding tenants for the facility.
“There’s no formal commitments, but certainly we’ve had some inquires,” he said.
“I look at all the layoffs in the larger centres too and I think there’s going to be a lot of people looking for a place to have their start-up companies and, if economics are a factor, it makes Minto a lot more attractive than paying a city rent.”
Other potential tenants include people operating home businesses “who want to move it up a notch,” Duff suggested.
