| Panelists
presentations on "Our Downtown's Image"
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Mr.
Claude Brochu, Municipal Councilor
Mr.
Brochu explains the role of a municipal councilor (for instance, himself)
sitting on the BIA Committee:
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Represent
the interests of Municipal Council and the Town;
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Inform
the BIA Committee of Municipal Council politics and provincial legislations
concerning the BIA;
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Inform
Municipal Council about activities and decisions of the BIA Committee;
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Insure
that BIA expenses are done in accordance with the budget approved by the
Municipality;
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Communicate
with Municipal Council and the BIA Committee on various requests;
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Raise
subjects of concern of the BIA Committee and the Municipality;
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Improve
communications between businesses and the Municipality and its staff.
Mr. Brochu
also points out that the BIA Committee gives the possibility to business
owners to join their effort and, with the Municipality's support, organize,
finance and realize capital improvements in the downtown area and promote
economic development.
The
BIA Committee also has the mandate to increase collective interest and
pride towards their downtown.
Promote
members' interest and help them voice their concerns by keeping good communication
with the Municipality and other government agencies.
To
conclude, Councilor Brochu says that the BIA sector (Hearst Downtown) was
established by Municipal Council in 1978. He points out that the
BIA annual budget has to be approved by the Municipality. He also
points out that its the Municipality, through its tax levies, that collects
the money that the BIA needs.
Following
questions from members, Councilor Brochu says that, presently, the Municipality
does not see things the same way as the BIA concerning development of the
downtown sector and financing for this development. Mr. Brochu says
that there is a great lack of communication between the Municipality and
the BIA Committee.
The
President thanks Mr. Brochu for his presentation.
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Mr.
Conrad Morin, President of the Chamber of Commerce
Mr.
Morin explains that, in preparation for his presentation, he conducted
a survey with the Chamber of Commerce members, to know how they perceived
the BIA. Mr. Morin says that he contacted entrepreneurs outside the
BIA sector. Thirty surveys were distributed and seven of these were
returned.
Mr.
Morin explains that the survey was made of five questions.
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Do you
know what the BIA means?
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What does
the Hearst BIA means for you?
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According
to you, who are the members?
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Again,
according to you, what role should the BIA play in the Town of Hearst.
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What changes,
if there is any change to be done, would you do to the Hearst BIA?
1. Its structure and composition
2. Its operation and goals
3. Its membership
Mr.
Morin has analyzed the results and pulled out the following conclusions:
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The BIA
should reeducate the population and enterprises outside the BIA sector
on how the BIA is financed.
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The BIA
should keep other enterprises informed of its activities.
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The BIA
and the Chamber of Commerce should form only one permanent committee.
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The BIA
should apply for heritage funds to physically improve buildings in the
BIA sector.
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The BIA
should be attentive to building owners who can be affected by BIA activities.
The
President thanks Mr. Morin for his presentation.
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Mr.
Gaston Grzela, Vice-president of the Kapuskasing BIA
Mr.
Grzela gives a short historic of the Kapuskasing BIA. He is a member
of the Kapuskasing BIA since 1976. The annual budget of the Kapuskasing
BIA is $30,000 (same amount as the Hearst BIA). Mr. Grzela says that
the Kapuskasing BIA has really good relations with the municipality and
especially with the mayor, Mr. Jean-Claude Caron. Mr. Grzela also
says that the BIA meets with municipal representatives every month.
Mr. Grzela thinks the downtown area is a good place for small businesses.
Moreover, Mr. Grzela points out that big stores, like shopping centers,
seem to have lost some popularity. Mr. Grzela encourages
members to get involved in their BIA and to attend monthly meetings.
Mr. Grzela reports that the Municipality of Kapuskasing tried hard to reduce
the number of services and businesses in residential sectors.
Mr.
Grzela explains that the Kapuskasing Economic Development team (KEDT) takes
care of the BIA administration at an annual cost of $5,000.
Finally,
as for the municipality, Mr. Grzela says that the previous administrator,
Mr. Matt Rukarina, has done many things for the downtown area, among other
things, he applied for a grant from the Heritage Fund to restore the Kapuskasing
downtown area, including the fountain at the center of the circle, which
cost more than $200,000.00. The Kapuskasing BIA has contracted a loan to
repay part of this amount and reimburses this loan at the rate of $13,000
per year. There is still a couple of years to pay before the loan
is fully repaid. According to Mr. Grzela, the municipality is responsible
for the maintenance in the downtown area.
Mr.
Grzela also voiced some comments on the previous presentations. First,
the BIA should stay independent from the Chamber of Commerce. According
to Mr. Grzela, goals and objectives, and especially finances, for both
organizations, are very different.
As
for parking, according to Mr. Grzela, it is preferable to control parking
spaces with meters, even if this system proves to be expensive. Mr.
Grzela adds that the municipality should not take parking revenues as a
source of financing for other general expenses.
As
for local buying, Mr. Grzela says that the best day for his enterprise,
is Sunday. He notes that many people from Hearst come to his store
on Sundays. Finally, Mr. Grzela says that the construction of Wall
Mart in Kapuskasing has negatively affected sales for downtown businesses.
However, he is convinced that, if downtown businesses offer good service,
they will survive and expand.
The
President thanks Mr. Grzela for his presentation.
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Mrs. Danielle Coulombe, History Professor at the Hearst University:
Mrs.
Coulombe explains that her presentation will be in two sections.
In the first section, she will voice her concerns regarding the downtown
area and, in the second section, she will suggest some improvements for
the downtown area. Mrs. Coulombe says that she shops downtown regularly,
and this for more than twenty-five years. Among her concerns, Mrs.
Coulombe says that the downtown area is becoming more and more a service
center to the detriment of a variety of businesses. Mrs. Coulombe
says that the downtown area is more than a commercial sector, but that
it is, in fact, the center, the heart of the community. Mrs. Coulombe
thinks that the BIA should deploy efforts to heighten public, as well as
community leaders' awareness. On the improvement side, Mrs. Coulombe
says that the municipality should recognize that development in the downtown
area profits to everyone and not only to entrepreneurs of this sector.
She
points out many improvements, especially at the infrastructure level (sidewalks,
street lamps, etc.) realized during the last twenty-five years. Mrs.
Coulombe adds that, on this point, the BIA has greatly filled out its mission.
Mrs.
Coulombe emphasizes that a downtown is the image of a community.
The
President thanks Mrs. Coulombe for her presentation.
Questions:
At
this moment, the President asked the audience if they had any questions
for panel members.
In
response to a question, Councilor Claude Brochu says that it is important
that the Municipality and the BIA work closer together.
Mrs.
Gaudreau also emphasizes the importance of a BIA and the pride that this
one should generate in the whole community.
The
President thanks Mrs. Gaudreau for her presentation as well as the audience
for their questions.
The
President explains that the BIA would like to have more members sitting
on the executive committee. The President also takes this occasion
to emphasize the presence of Mr. Daniel Larochelle and Mrs. Manon Pelletier
who were nominated as members of the executive during the year. |
