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Archive for the ‘ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT’ Category

Economic Development(s)

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LETTERS TO THE LOCAL PRESS, SOCIAL ISSUES on March 30, 2012 at 1:02 pm

Gord Fuller: March 30, 2012

I don’t know what others think but we, the taxpayer, have shelled out more than $1.4 million for the new Economic Development Corporation and with the latest stories coming out from the D/N I am not impressed.  Ms. Cudahy is being paid quite well for the job she is supposed to do and in some ways she fits right in with the reasons why many choose not get involved.  Its almost like she has spent years here instead of about 6 months.  As I mention in one of my comments on a story; how many strikes before she is out?

March 30 Work on tourism Nanaimo website goes to Toronto

March 29 Philip Wolf: Cynicism has legitimate roots for Nanaimo residents

March 28 Economic development CEO wants to end negativity about the city

Editorial: Nanaimo could use return of civic pride

The last two stories prompted me to send the following letter to the D/N on the 28th, though if I had known what was to come on the 28th & 29th I might have held off.  If you haven’t already checked out the comments on the D/N stories please do, some are quite amusing:)

Read the rest of this entry »

Conference Centre in the news

In CITY FINANCE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT on March 11, 2011 at 2:03 pm

Gordon Fuller: March 11, 2011

So the NNC or VICC Vancouver Island Conference Centre makes the news again with a possible change in licensing from Food Primary to Liqour Primary.

Don’t know about the readers but I find this story, Conference centre could get another helping hand, and Denise Tacon’s comments in particular to be quite offensive.  To blame those speaking out about the drain this facility is taking on taxpayers dollars is simply ludicrous and then to try and snow people about delegate days really does not say much for what she thinks of as our intelligence.  Read the rest of this entry »

This Monday’s Brain Teasers

In CITY GOVERNMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on March 1, 2011 at 2:18 am

Ron Bolin, Mar 1, 2011

At the 7pm opening of the Feb. 28, 2011, meeting of Nanaimo’s City Council, I recognized as in  attendance three of the six candidates running for a seat on Council in this month’s by-election.  At its 11: 20pm close I saw none of them.  Not a good start.  Neither did any take advantage of the availability of Council and TV exposure to explain their position on tax rates nor on the financial plan even though these will not, due to the timing of the by-election, be passed until May 15.  This means that their input could be useful if they are elected and should be presented openly to the public whose votes they seek.  One has to wonder about the commitment to the job which these candidates have thus far demonstrated.  They will have one more chance to make their opinions broadly and publically known at the March 14 Council meeting.

You may note that this was, at nearly 4 ½ hours, one of Council’s lengthier meetings.  The time was devoted primarily to two issues, both involving conflicts with residents, and both, at least in my mind, requiring a higher level of legal advice than was, in my opinion, available at Council.  Watch for these issues to return. Read the rest of this entry »

The Race is on… Isn’t it?

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY CALENDAR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL ISSUES on February 28, 2011 at 12:42 pm

Ron Bolin, Feb. 28, 2010

We know the field.  Now we need to know the candidates and their issues.  Thus far I have seen about 80-125 words per candidate in the Daily News, and about 275 words per candidate in the Bulletin.  In returning to the Daily News this morning to check some info, I couldn’t even find the by-election listed on the front page and a search didn’t find anything either.  I hope that the Bulletin will keep running the by-election banner until it is over.  We will see what more our newspapers do to keep us informed of the candidates and the issues.

I have heard rumours of an all candidates meeting to be held soon, but have not heard any details.  Hopefully, with only six candidates, there will be adequate time for some debate on the issues rather than the simple “I am a good person and I am for lower taxes and better services for everyone,” which is the usual fare.  (I do not mean to insult the candidates here.  Given the few seconds that have traditionally been allocated per candidate, that is about all that they can say.)  Read the rest of this entry »

New Cruise Ship Terminal: Money up the Stack of a Pile Driver

In ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT on September 16, 2010 at 11:20 am

Comment from J. Olson posted here for further comment, discussion

So now the public is informed that someone is spending $22.5 million tax payer dollars on a dock because the cruise ship industry does not like the operational costs associated with tendering ports where they have to use their own crew and life boats to ferry people back and forth to shore even though the industry admits that tendering ports offer a unique aesthetic experience for the tourist. Isn’t this a little like killing the goose that laid the golden egg? Would it not be better to capitalize on this travel experience? Why not build a floating Welcome Centre? Why not employ local folks to operate tendering services to the inner harbour? What is the special tourist experience about when getting on a bus in a dusty parking lot in the middle of an industrial wasteland?

And also, who invented the development plan for the assembly wharf lands that is illustrated in the video? Was a policy statement developed that informs the urban design decisions that must invariably be taken for this area? Was a master plan, transportation, land use, and sustainability plan created for this area? Was there a public consultation process? Was it advertised? Was the City of Nanaimo Planning Department consulted?

Is there any reality here other than money going up the stack of a pile driver while the local community tears its hair out over environmental impacts?

J. Olson

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How’s that Economic Development Thing Coming Along?

In ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT on August 23, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Big Nickel

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Frank Murphy  –  August 23, 2010
Mayor Ruttan told the Daily News on August 20 that interest in establishing a passenger ferry into Vancouver harbour had “fizzled”.  No mention of whether or not this related to the exciting news that some months ago the mayor announced he’d be revealing very soon — any day now. I had noticed in the meeting minutes of the Economic Development Commission that there was discussion about a proposal for a 90 passenger hovercraft service.

Cities like Sudbury, emerging from the decline of mining and/or manufacturing are taking an approach to economic development that holds lessons for the new challenges Nanaimo faces.  Globe and Mail reporter Adam Radwanski in his Why the Big Nickel’s a magnet for global education describes how the hard scrabble town, with guidance and big bucks from the provincial government, is hitching its wagons to a knowledge based future by, among other initiatives, working with its Laurentian University to recruit foreign students, particularly in post graduate pursuits.

Where we see tourism as our saviour, here’s what else Sudbury is doing to diversify its economic base:

  • expanded the university
  • opened a new francophone college
  • health care made a priority including the creation of a new medical school
  • new cancer research centre
  • Provincial Ministry of Northern Development moved from Toronto
  • Science North opened as a kid friendly tourist attraction.
  • a concerted effort to build on the city’s past by becoming a leader in mining technology that can be used elsewhere.

You may not know or may not want to be reminded that the original concept for the Mayor’s Economic Development Commission did not include Vancouver Island University President Ralph Nilson. It had to be impressed upon him and his Council colleagues that you might want your local university at that particular table.

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A view of the Port Place redevelopment from the boat basin

In ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT on August 3, 2010 at 1:53 pm

Dan Appell — August 3, 2010
I have some concerns related to the Port Place Mall development and with broader planning issues related to ocean side development, retail development, downtown development and the planning process in general.

I have a lot of concerns.

Its difficult to know where to start.

I decided to start at a point that is somewhat arbitrary, and then proceed in a way that touches on certain issues I believe should be considered in much greater depth.

I’m starting from is a gap in the presentation materials that have been given to us, pertaining to the Port Place Mall redevelopment proposal.

We’ve seen an animation of a car driving through and around the site. We’ve seen some 3d renderings, some elevations, and plans. We’ve seen a drawing that is supposed to represent a view corridor analysis (I didn’t understand that one at all). And we saw a shortened version of a shadow study. What we didn’t see was what this project will look like from the boat basin. I think this view is relevant.

I don’t think any one of us would argue that we have one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. In that most beautiful harbour Read the rest of this entry »


Local pilot Gordon Heys’ address to Council re arbitrary lease changes to General Aviation at Nanaimo Airport

In ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT on May 21, 2010 at 10:30 pm

Date May 17, 2010

Dear Mayor and Council Members,

I am pleased to be given the opportunity to speak to Mayor and Council on the things that General Aviation does for a community. Despite what a great many people think, the average cost of a plane on our airport is similar to the cost of an average car or boat. We are not a bunch of rich guys. Those of us who have chosen to fly as a hobby do have the privilege of landing at an airport, renting a car, staying in a hotel, and purchasing local goods and services from the area. That is good for business and the economy in the local area.

We are all very lucky to have an airport in our Nanaimo region. Our airport is a dual use public facility as it not only provides an important air link in our transportation system, it also provides a facility where general aviation may keep their planes, as we can’t keep them at our homes. There is really no added cost to the operation of an airport to have general aviation present. The grass still has to be cut, and the runways plowed in the winter to serve commercial scheduled carriers. General aviation provides many benefits to an airport, one in particular being that can report any inconsistencies at the airport which is a huge safety factor.

A regional airport should be on a piece of land that will provide room for expansion as the population in our region grows and if the general passenger traffic increases. The CYCD has that. Those of us who fly and have learned something about weather realize that Read the rest of this entry »

City Provides Comprehensive Info

In CITY FINANCE, CITY GOVERNMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT on May 10, 2010 at 5:14 pm

As previously indicated, the City has now provided comprehensive information on its official Commissions, Committees, Boards, etc. and is to be congratulated on the comprehensive nature of the information provided. It was worth the wait and will, I am certain, be kept up to date. To see the information provided go to the relevant City web page.

2010 Budget information for these agencies is as follows:

ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Advisory Committee on the Environment (ACE) – $2,500
Design Advisory Panel (DAP) – $500
Grants Advisory Committee (GAC) – $6,000 (mostly advertising PTEs – Charter requirement)
PlanNanaimo Advisory Committee (PNAC) – $2,500
Social Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC) – $2,500
Transportation Advisory Committee – No specific budget
Water Supply Advisory Committee – No specific budget

COMMISSIONS (INCLUDES COMMISSION SUB-COMMITTEES)
Nanaimo Athletic Commission – $3,000
Nanaimo Community Heritage Commission – $4,500 (Includes $2,000 from reserve for printing posters. Base budget is $2,500)
Nanaimo Economic Development Commission – $29,000
Parks Recreation and Culture Commission – $11,600
Cultural Committee- No specific budget
Parks Committee – No specific budget
Recreation Committee – No specific budget

REVIEW PANEL
Parcel Tax Review Panel – No specific budget

BOARDS
Board of Variance – $2,900

WORKING GROUPS
Safer Nanaimo Working Group – No specific budget

I would like to thank the city for providing this information.

- Home –

Ron Bolin

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