Meaford Market Square (Photo from Google Maps)
Meaford is applying for some provincial funding to help boost local business development.
Council approved a motion from Coun. Rob Uhrig directing staff to apply for the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund during its meeting on Feb. 24, with the goal of completing a business retention and expansion (BR+E) study.
The last time Meaford undertook a BR+E study was in early 2000.
If the municipality is successful in receiving funding and the study can be completed, the municipal Growing our Economy Advisory Committee will participate in the study.
“We should be looking at any utility that we can be utilizing, they are putting money out there,” says Uhrig. “One of the things we are not doing as a municipality that is very concerning, shovel ready lands, trying to get ready for businesses, trying to encourage businesses to either expand or come here or do both.”
Uhrig adds business retention and expansion should be considered going hand in hand.
“You can’t afford to lose any business either if you are a small municipality,” says Uhrig.
He says Meaford needs to identify what properties it has in its inventory and encourage businesses to set up shop in the municipality.
“We need to get all these tools that we possibly can as to why businesses should be coming here,” says Uhrig. “We are not on the radar because we are not ready, and we need things like this to make us ready to be able to go out and say to businesses, here is what we can offer.”
Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney voiced her support for Uhrig’s motion.
“BR+E is a wonderful tool, it is not going to solve everything, but I think it’s an opportunity to bring that information together, to bring forward those opportunities to collaborate because it will be an in depth discussion with as many of our businesses as humanly possible if we are successful with this grant,” says Keaveney.