The Penetangore Regional Economic Development Corporation has set new priorities for 2015 after the municipality of Kincardine cut funding to the non profit group.
President Jim Prenger says while the municipality may feel it's more efficient to bring economic development back under the municipal responsibility, the work cannot be relegated to the corner of a desk.
Vice President Robert Cottrill says Kincardine's downtown is falling behind other places like Port Elgin, and Goderich. He says that is a barometer of economic well being.
The corporation will continue to work to bring natural gas to the region to put it on a level playing field with other areas. They also hope the municipality will see the benefits of developing a business case for the airport.
“What we need to appreciate as a community is that we have to prepare for investors," says board member Allan Ribbink. "Investors and developers look for places where there is a supply of ready land, where business investment is welcomed and where the building and planning department operates with high attention to customer satisfaction. We spent the last nine months preparing the ground for new investment: a new robust web site, lots of easily accessible information about the Penetangore Region and its municipalities; distribution of our SUSTAIN magazine to more than 130 developers and large corporations with businesses that might suit our area; the development of partnerships so we could do more with what we have; establishment of an agreement with Ontario Provincial Farms and local realtors to market the property behind the No Frills Store. And there was much more than that in the works.”
