The Town of
Erin should load up its Community Improvement Plan (CIP) with as many tools as
possible, even if they are not to be used right away.
That was the
advice of consultant Nancy Reid of the firm Stantec, at a community
consultation workshop at Centre 2000 on Feb. 13.
“Build a
toolbox you can implement over a 10-year period,” she said. “You can change the
focus every year.”
The “tools” are
primarily programs to channel public money to private firms through loans or
grants, for physical projects that benefit the broader community.
The funding is
intended to supplement private investment in the projects. Businesses will
apply for assistance, which may be approved if they meet the town’s current
criteria.
Possible
programs include improvements to business façades, signage, landscaping,
accessibility and energy efficiency.
They could
include creation of new housing units, heritage conservation projects, building
expansions or conversions, remediation of former industrial land, deferral of
tax increases on improved property, improved parking, development of local
attractions in areas such as the arts, local food or the equine sector, or
making key areas more walkable.
“The CIP should
help revitalize the town and stimulate investment,” Reid told town council
recently.
She also
recommends that the whole town be included. Even if downtown retail stores, for
example, were to be the recipients of the initial effort, she said the town
should keep the option of targeting industrial or agricultural areas in the
future.
Input at the
recent workshop will be reflected in the draft plan, to be ready in March. There
will be a public meeting before council votes on its adoption.
CIP funding
allocated by the Town of Erin ($20,000 in 2018) is expected to be supplemented
by Wellington County’s Invest Well Community Improvement Plan.
The Economic
Development Department says it will “allow the County to provide tax assistance,
grants or loans to assist in the rehabilitation of lands and buildings.”
The amount of county
funding has not been set, but it will be targeted based on the Economic
Development Strategy, Business Retention and Expansion findings, the Taste Real
program and the Investment Attraction Strategy.
Countywide
priorities may include support for downtowns, affordable/high density housing,
diversification of economic activity and employment land development.