Georgina needs balanced approach to attract, retain business: consultant

Yorkregion.com
May 19, 2016
By Heidi Riedner

The town shouldn’t put all its employment and investment eggs in one economic basket, according to the public and the consultant hired to help update the municipality’s economic development strategy.

Instead, the town needs to take a more balanced and consistent approach to its investment attraction efforts, as well as retention and expansion of its existing business base.

That was the clear message after two public information sessions involving various stakeholders and area residents held at The Link last week with consultant David Cash. He was hired in 2015 to help assist the town’s ongoing process that will ultimately redefine the town’s economic priorities and align them with an updated corporate strategy moving the municipality forward over the course of the next 15 years.

More than likely, two or three key areas or projects to “go to town on” with key deliverables will be identified at the end of the process in what Cash described as a long-term effort you don’t just “turn on and off”.

The fact that Georgina needs a fresh resume, should leverage its prime asset in 52 feet of Lake Simcoe shoreline, has a love-hate relationship with tourism that needs to be resolved, should follow the trend toward a knowledge-based rather than manufacturing economy and requires a stronger high-speed internet network to support business didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who participated in the two-hour workshops Tuesday.

Pefferlaw being an untapped mecca of employment lands, redefining the Keswick business park before it’s even out of the gate and potential waterfront development to kickstart a tried and tired tourism box were a bit of a surprise, however.

Planning targets for the town estimate the current population of 47,000 will almost double and local employment nearly triple over the next 15 years.

The latter was what Cash termed as an “aggressive target”, especially in light of the fact more than 70 per cent (or over 15,000) of Georgina’s current resident labour force works outside of the community.

While much of the planned new employment growth is focused within the Keswick Business Park (KBP) — 21,000 in the next 15 years - Cash cautioned against putting all the town’s employment eggs in one basket.

“I just don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said. “As much as I’d like that to happen, maybe the town needs to look at a more distributed approach to its employment - some in Keswick, some in Sutton/Jackson’s Point and some in Pefferlaw and then exploit the advantages of each of those three communities.”

The town is assuming that nearly 80 per cent of all the new jobs created in the next 15 years will be located in the KBP.

Considering the current backlog in the town’s official plan forecasts, this suggests about 900-plus new jobs in the KBP every year from now to 2013, Cash added.

Declining demand for large-scale industrial businesses in businesss park locations focused on labour intensive and often low-skill manufacturing may necessitate a design shift of the Keswick Business Park, Cash said.

While warehouse/distribution centres generate property taxes, they don’t necessarily employ large numbers of people, he added.

The Keswick Business Park could be an appropriate location for a new civic centre, with surplus space to be used as a business accelerator, speeding up the growth of key small businesses, he added.

Those who live and work in town (about 7,500 people) have occupations mainly in the sales/service, construction and business administration categories.

While resident or manufacturing located within Georgina is relatively small, it is very important, according to Cash, since these firms are specialized, export-oriented and a key source of growth.

“Today, some of the most successful businesses have less than four employees, are exporting their stuff all over the world and their expertise is in their head,” Cash said.

“It could be something they make or in the ground or whatever.”

Leveraging the people and talents offered by the more than 3,400 existing businesses operating within Georgina - of which 73 per cent are owner-operated without employees - should be a key component of economic strategy moving forward.

They involve construction firms and related fields, those working in real estate and the tourism sector, which is an aggregate combining arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, food services and specialty retail.

Despite the fact tourism is an obvious dominant specialization and the municipality is home to 14 marinas and 1,000 boat slips, for example, Georgina “has lost its edge” and is allowing other municipalities to “cut its grass”, said Cash, adding we need to “get with it” and bring more tourists back to Georgina and have a strategy to do it.

Barrie and Orillia, for example, are two municipalities with some very aggressive waterfront programs in place, according to Cash.

“We’re going to have to figure out if we’re in the game or not,” he said, adding, however, waterfront development comes with its own challenges - not the least of which includes sustainability hoops that can drive up costs and access issues.

While many agreed Georgina needs to find a “new way to do the lake”, there is an environmental impact that goes along with that.

“We don’t want to kill the goose laying the golden egg,” Cash said.

While locals may not be pelting tour buses with stones, as in one example from Niagara on the Lake floated by Cash, they definitely have a love-hate relationship with day-trippers and the many tourists lined “cheek to jowl” on Georgina’s beaches in the summer, according to the dozen or so residents who participated in the evening workshop.

Business models that feature indoor and outdoor recreation activity, such as family vacation villages popular in Europe or experience tourism, may be perfect opportunities for Georgina to rejuvenate its tourism industry, Cash said.

Some of the major ideas floated included new tourism targets that may involve harbour and marina development, agri-tourism and culinary tourism - all of which are growing in Ontario, according to statistics.

Pefflerlaw was another untapped area with great advantages in employment lands with its close proximity to CN, highway and hydro corridors, in Cash’s opinion.

The area’s vacant, and lower cost, employment lands could be a focal point for new and emerging industries.

There is lots of untapped expertise and opportunity in Georgina that could be leveraged for more economic growth in our community, according to Cash.

“Our small business sector is Georgina’s biggest advantage,” he said.

“What are we going to do to help them grow and expand and mature? This is what the strategy is all about.”

Traditional economic development strategies often do not focus enough on the opportunity provided by “owner-operated” businesses.

“Working with and assisting these types of businesses should be a high priority,” Cash said, adding “off the radar” sectors, including professional, scientific and technical industries, as well as  specialized and emerging industries, are some of the fastest growing firms in the economy today, yet are often overlooked in terms of development strategies in favour of chasing that elusive large industrial plant shopping for a low-cost location.

First and foremost, however, the town’s economic development strategy requires a diversified plan to bring money into the municipality via businesses and industries that grow the economic pie rather than slice it.

Cash and Associates developed a discussion paper providing information on Georgina’s economic statistics, trends, forecasts, conditions and opportunities.

It is available for public viewing on the town’s website.

It, as well as public and stakeholder comment, will feed into the development of an updated economic development strategic action plan for Georgina.