Duane Hicks
The implementation of a new Economic Development Commission (EDC) to boost economic development efforts in Fort Frances may be closer to reality.
Upon recommendation of the Administration and Finance executive committee, town council agreed Monday night to finance a feasibility study by the Rainy River Future Development Corp. to look at all aspects of a possible EDC, including costs, in order to provide council will all the information it needs before making any decisions.
Bill Gushulak, chairman of the local Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC), said yesterday that a new EDC is a topic that has come up time and again over the years.
Most recently, it has been discussed more and more by the EDAC and considered “in order that the Town of Fort Frances can be in a better position to more aggressively pursue economic development for our community.”
While the EDAC exists as an advisory committee to town council with no budget, and is very limited in what it can do, an EDC would be an autonomous non-profit body which would conduct economic activities on behalf of the town.
But it also would have a board which would make its own decisions and staff, such as an economic co-ordinator, to perform activities.
“We’re looking to be more hands-on with things that may come up from day-to-day and be a little more prepared than maybe we are,” said Gushulak.
“I think the RRFDC has been working well and we’ve had some good successes over the years with them.
“We’re not cutting ourselves off from them, this would supplement them,” he stressed.
Gushulak said the town has to be able to be ready to jump on any good business opportunity it can, especially in these tough economic times.
“If something needs special nurturing, we want to be in a position to be able to offer that,” he explained.
“Up until now, I think we have been doing it, but we’ve sometimes not been in the right position and perhaps if we can get someone on board that would be specifically for the Town of Fort Frances, then it will be a benefit to us and, really, the district.
“Rather than seeing it slip through our fingers and say, ‘Oh, if only we had been there,’ it allows us to be on top of things a little bit more and have somebody in place for that.
“It would provide us with an opportunity to put a better game plan into place than what we have right now, and just be a little more aggressive in those areas,” added Gushulak.
“I know sometimes people are more receptive to these ideas once an industry closes down or something along that line. [But] we’d like somebody in place that could work with the current industry and businesses in town to make sure that they’re getting what they need.
“And if they need some assistance with something, to be able to help them and maybe do some digging around for them. To secure information and different opportunities that may be out there for them.
“And also, as people come through our area or region, there’s things that come up probably every day that people are looking for,” Gushulak noted.
“There’s things happening in the States and we would like to be in a position to know what are those opportunities and is there somebody in this area that can take advantage of it, or is there someone we can move to this area to take advantage of it—that kind of a thing.
“It just means that you have somebody that’s dedicated to that particular cause more than we’ve had, and that’s the reason we feel it would be a good move for our community to pursue this.”
The EDAC has been reviewing some other communities’ EDC models, how they have worked, and what could be done to
improve them if implemented here.
“There’s no real proof until you have it in place and have it going, but we’re hoping to have things dialed in so that if we do get somebody in that position, you can be ready to run with it,” said Gushulak.
“There’s definitely a cost to having a person in that position, but if we don’t have a person in that position, what is it costing us?” he asked, noting somebody has to focus on trying to fill empty businesses sitting downtown and try to get new industry going here.
Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig said yesterday that the cost of the feasibility study is unknown at this time. But after talking to Geoff Gillon of the RRFDC, it probably won’t be too expensive or take too long.
It’s hoped the town will be able to pay for it out of the economic development dollars it already allocates to the RRFDC annually to provide services.
Still in the conceptual stage at this point, the EDAC provided information to council to give it an idea as to how the transition from an EDAC to an EDC might work.
If it were to go ahead, the EDC would be a not-for-profit corporation with a board of directors independent from the town and RRFDC.
The board might consist of nine-12 members, including one town councillor, five business representatives, one Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce rep, one Rainy Lake bands rep, one tourist business rep, one legal rep, and two other members if deemed necessary.
The mayor and a Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry rep would be ex-officio members.
A working group (possibly the current EDAC) would develop a set of bylaws for the EDC board. And once the board is formed, its first task would be to finalize new bylaws and develop policies for key operations of the EDC, such as policies for procurement and investment, media, marketing, tourism, and staffing.
The new EDC board then would develop job descriptions for staff and proceed to hire them. These positions would include an economic development co-ordinator and possibly a marketing and tourism co-ordinator.
Both these positions would be RRFDC staff with wages paid by the RRFDC.
Negotiations regarding the financing and wages, benefits, and operating expenses would have to be finalized between the town and RRFDC.
The EDC board would direct the co-ordinators’ work and activities.
Both co-ordinators, the EDC board, and town staff would work closely together.
