Economic development corporation in the works
By Liz Dadson
 

Kincardine Council

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The Kincardine economic development committee members want to become a corporation to benefit developers and local business.

Councillor Mike Leggett told Kincardine council June 17 that currently, the committee is governed by the rules and regulations of council, and must follow municipal policies and procedures. As a corporation, it would have a budget under council but could go out and raise its own funds as well.

"The corporation could take more risks, add funding to small businesses, and purchase land without the council’s blessing," said Leggett. "It would benefit developers to deal with a corporation rather than a committee of council."

Councillor Guy Anderson said this is for information purposes only, so people know what’s going on when they see an advertisement about a meeting to get public input on the idea of an economic development corporation.

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28/06/2009 12:30 AM

Councillor Ron Hewitt said there is already a Bruce Community Futures Development Corporation in place. "But that’s (Bruce) county wide," said Leggett. "It’s not just for Kincardine. We’re looking at this for sustainable development here."

"I don’t think we want a lot of duplication with this," said Hewitt.
"We want to hold a meeting to get the stakeholders together and look at it," said Leggett.
Mayor Larry Kraemer said an economic development corporation would also be an opportunity to approach different levels of government for funding and make partnerships with local businesses. "We have to contact various groups to see if it’s feasible, but I believe it shows promise," he said.

Once the information meeting is held, a report will come to council for further consideration.