Revitalizing South Dundas: priorities, teamwork, action

 

“Nicole certainly has some good ideas on how to revitalize this committee,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds, “She’s certainly not letting it drop off.”

South Dundas economic development officer Nicole Sullivan presented council with recommendations for reformatting the structure of the Economic Development Advisory Committee during the July 17th council meeting in Williamsburg.

Council agreed with Sullivan’s recommendation that they turn from an Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) structure and move to an Economic Development Advisory and Project Teams (EDAPT) structure.

The switch will allow for one advisory team that oversees the various project teams. 

One of the benefits of EDAPT, said Sullivan, is that “it helps us to include participants who might not otherwise have wanted to commit time.” 

Project teams have defined parameters with specific goals. People who might not normally join an advisory team due to its broad scope and large time commitment, might now join a project team with a specific time frame and an agenda that interests them personally, thus bringing in new ideas and perspectives.

According to Sullivan, the South Dundas Economic Development Advisory Committee met on June 13th to discuss and formulate a forward action plan in relation to suggestions made in the South Dundas Economic Development Strategy Update, adopted by council on June 5th.

During the meeting, the committee identified four initiatives they feel are priorities for South Dundas.

The identified initiatives include:

• Develop a tourism strategy

• Develop and continually update marketing and investment attraction materials

• Develop a more tourist-friendly community

• Identify what brand works best, and fully engage the brand

The bottom two initiatives will be focussed on internally by Sullivan herself, while the top two initiatives will be divided and addressed by two separate project teams.

Currently, the Tourism Strategy Project Team consists of Donnie Bowes of Upper Canada Playhouse, Michael Burton of Russell Manor, Sally Francis of Iroquois Marina, Susan Le Clair of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission, Hanna Rycroft of the Basket Case Gallery and Café, Tom Morrow of the McIntosh Country Inn, Linda Wilson of Cornwall and the Counties Tourism, and South Dundas councillor Jim Graham.

The Investment Attraction Materials Project Team consists of John Allison of John Allison Real Estate, Stephen Law of Iroquois, Mark Miron of the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario, Steve Walsh of Udder Comfort, and South Dundas councillor Evonne Delegarde.

The Advisory Team consists of EDAC chairperson Mart Prost, director of South Dundas Chamber of Commerce Michel Proulx, South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds, and the chairs of each of the two project teams.

Sullivan is also a member of each of the three teams. 

Anyone interested in joining one of the teams should submit a statement of interest along with a detailed synopsis outlining their reasons for joining and their unique qualifications to nsullivan@southdundas.com.

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