A committee tasked with developing an economic revitalization plan for the City of Powell River has submitted its final report.
City council received the report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Economic Development at the November 7 council meeting and directed staff to prepare a report with recommendations for implementation. As well, council voted to dissolve the committee.
Mayor Dave Formosa thanked all the members of the committee for their service. “I think we are of the conclusion that we’re not going to have one big corporation come into our community and save us and take us off into the sunset,” he said. “This report gives us a guideline of numerous, different projects, one project at a time, that we can actually undertake.”
Formosa also said he thinks Powell River residents would have an appetite to support the projects. “The industrial revolution is over, we’re in the communication revolution,” he said. “Arts and culture is a big part of our community and we’re transitioning. It’s just a fact of life, it’s a reality.”
The document will be used to create economic activity and own-source revenues for the community, Formosa explained, “so we don’t have to continue taxing ourselves out of existence.”
One thing he doesn’t think was covered in the report, Formosa added, was developing a strategy to market the community. “We need to have a comprehensive, solid plan to market ourselves,” he said. “I’d just like council to think about that.”
Task force members were asked to provide input on economic development projects and initiatives in 12 sectors and areas of activity and decide through consensus what level of action city council should take. They used the following coding system when recommending a course of action: participate, support, research, advocate, facilitate and encourage.
The committee reached consensus that council should use the sustainability charter developed in partnership with Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation, Powell River Regional District and School District 47 to guide future decisions about what types of development would be acceptable in the community.
The report prioritizes initiatives, with transportation at the top of the list. The first recommendation is that the city investigate building a development strategy for the airport, for the purpose of creating new jobs and tax revenue. The second recommendation is that the city investigate completing a feasibility study and build a strategy to develop a transshipping facility for the transshipment of goods to and from centres such as the Port Metro Vancouver. The third recommendation is to identify opportunities for the development of new moorage and dry land storage for the recreational and commercial vessel market to establish itself as a centre for the industry on BC’s south coast.
The fourth recommendation in the category is that the city expands on its plans to develop an established network of biking and hiking trails within the community’s boundaries.
The other sectors in the report include: community, social and health services; green/environmental; knowledge-based industries; arts and culture; tourism; and food production. Other categories are: community asset development; investment attraction and business development; resident attraction/human capital; government policy and supports; and the business retention and expansion program.
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