Business retention and expansion was the focus of a joint Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North economic development meeting at the Maryborough Community Centre on May 21.
Guest speaker Rebecca Mustard, economic development officer for Durham Region, described a business retention and expansion (BR+E) study conducted in Scugog Township, providing numerous points of comparison to a similar Wellington County study that has reached the implementation phase.
“Our objectives are really similar to your objectives,” Mustard said, citing goals such as enhancing relationships between the business community and the municipality, identifying and addressing business concerns, and increasing competitiveness of local businesses.
Mustard complimented Wellington County on its own BR+E efforts.
“You have a fabulous project, it’s a great read and it has some really interesting actions to it,” she said.
Scugog township is a largely rural region with a population of about 22,000 people, built around the tourist hub of Port Perry. About 75 per cent of local residents “leave the community to work somewhere else,” said Mustard. “If everyone in Scugog wanted to work in Scugog, there is not enough jobs for them.”
Like Wellington County, agriculture plays a major role in the Scugog economy, said Mustard.
“Agriculture is probably Scugog’s second largest industry,” she said.
Scugog’s study showed that 38 existing businesses were looking to expand, prompting the municipality to consider its role in facilitating that goal.
“That raised the question of how do we help them expand? Or how do we get out of the way of this expansion?” said Mustard.
Part of the answer to that question is obvious from the fact 44% of Scugog businesses cited business taxes among the top five barriers to doing business locally, while 36% cited issues with the local approval process. However, the Scugog study also revealed finding skilled workers is a concern in the region, cited by 35% of study respondents. Lack of internet access in some areas was also a problem.
Mustard said through the interview process Scugog officials also realized there is a need to make development charges “more feasible” for businesses.
“Time and time again we were told, ‘You wanted $50,000 from me before I ever put a shovel into the ground,’” she explained.
Citing broadband and labour force issues specifically, Wellington North Mayor Ray Tout noted many of Scugog’s business concerns mirror issues often raised in Wellington County.
“It’s interesting to note we’re … hours apart, but we still have a lot of the same issues,” said Tout.
In a presentation on the local BR+E study, Wellington County economic development officer Jana Reichert said the county is now ready to accept applications from lower tier municipalities for up to $25,000 each in funding for BR+E plans.
“We’re looking forward to seeing some of the implementation plans,” she said.
Minto Mayor George Bridge offered “kudos” to Wellington County council for the decision to offer a total of $175,000 to the county’s seven lower tier municipalities.
“There’s no use starting the business retention and expansion study if you’re not going to put some money on the table to implement it,” said Bridge.
