Friday, November 18, 2011
Creating a Better City
Saturday is Election Day and it will be time to decide if Cranbrook moves forward or continues to look to the past to create its future. Old ideas and the same rhetoric aren't going to help Cranbrook be everything it can be. While we have many things to offer we need to start creating a Cranbrook that is attractive to a younger demographic. Second home developement, fast food restaurants and big box stores are not what they are looking for and neither do these things provide the type of jobs that families can support themselves with. It's time for fresh ideas and fresh faces on Council. The choice is yours. Get out and Vote.
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The citizens of Cranbrook will really decide the community they want in this election. They can continue with the turn back the clock mentality that has been the approach of recent councils, or move into the future with a responsible forward looking mayor and council to define and implement new vision and reality for the city. I hope you will support those who offer a new vision and fresh ideas. Your choice!!
ReplyDeleteMy turn to ask questions. Please provide me with three ways to expand our local economy? I have seen nothing from your organization that addresses this. You want jobs that can support families. Please tell me how?
ReplyDeleteJust to point out. Big box stores contribute well over a million dollars in property taxes to the city thus alleviating some of the burdens on the residential tax payer. Business pays 3 times the residential rate based on assessed values. This is money we did not have 10 years ago. Money that supports our schools, hospital, and tax base. You say that is not economic development? We attract regional shoppers with a trading area population of over 60000 people. That is new dollars coming into our community circulating through the local economy.
ReplyDeleteThat's not economic development? I would suggest that if you are going to make comments about economic development at least have a base understanding of economics. Our college has excellent micro and macro economic classes available.
The point made in the editorial was not in opposition to the big box stores, etc, but "start creating a Cranbrook that is attractive to a younger demographic. Second home developement, fast food restaurants and big box stores are not what they are looking for and neither do these things provide the type of jobs that families can support themselves with.:
ReplyDeleteAnd it is absolutely correct and we all know it. Cranbrook has often been referred to as pot hole capital, as fast food capital, as graffiti capital, as big box capital!!!
Now is time to elect a mayor and council that will work towards making it the most desirable city in which to live, not only in BC but Canada. Your choice!
This article did not say that the big box stores did not bring in a large sum of taxes – nor did it say they were not economic development.
ReplyDeleteWe must also remember before the big box stores arrived we had a more thriving downtown with another large supermarket, a busy mall, several speciality shops, shoe store and clothing stores which also provided employment and taxes. For diversity of shopping we need more of that home grown, once more.
To answer your question - here are just three little suggestions for expanding our local economy
Bring in a Travel Tour Company and show them a week’s worth of guided day hikes, base – Cranbrook. Put together a package for a company such as HF, Headwater, Ramblers – European Companies that excel at that type of package holiday. There are people looking for that already. It just needs to be marketed.
Work with the College to train more fine craftspeople – journeymen carpenters and work with furniture companies to explore furniture(not kitchens as we have that) manufacturing here in Cranbrook.
Investigate the potential for winter crops, under glass. Winter market gardening. This has been explored informally and we have ideas for how this could be done. We have all the components necessary.
There are many more ideas out there.
None of these ideas might bring in the tax dollars to begin with that the biggest box store brings in. However, how long will it be before even more of our longer established retail/food outlets stop bringing in tax dollars because these larger stores took their place? A community and area can only support so many grocery stores and pharmacies………and in tougher times families cannot continue to shop until they drop for items that are not essential.
Thank you for those suggestions. Travel companies are aware of the offerings of our region. Tourism Rockies does an excellent job of promoting tourism and Eco tourism in the area. Do we duplicate that with more taxpayer dollars
ReplyDeleteAn understanding of how the private sector works is crucial in attracting economic growth. If the private sector sees an opportunity they will explore it. One also has to recognize what the consumer wants as their trends dictate the direction of the private sector.
The college already has some excellent training programs for carpentry work. In fact so does our high school. The college has a timber framing program. My point is that these are ideas that are already employed.
You cannot limit what business wants to relocate to our city just because we already have a store that offers similar products ie your mention of grocery and pharmacy. That flies in the face of free enterprise. The more competition there is the better the price for the consumer. Does that mean you advocate for higher prices and monopolies?
My point is that a often a government can only set policy that will make it attractive for investment. You advocate for raising the DCCs. Do know how much it currently costs to develop on industrial lands? The cost is high and based on acreage size and not building footprint. Government can set out diverse land base policy but you oppose expansion. Where exactly do you think we are going to put the next manufacturing company that requires 20 acres of land with city services
Your organization continues to state that we have over 50 years of land. Where? Where do we build that next affordable housing. Show me three pieces of vacant land zoned r4 or r5 for medium density?
While I don't want to damper anyone's enthusiasm to provide ideas but at least acknowledge what is already in process. Understand that private sector goes where investment is deemed attractive. You cannot have investment with policies that punish investment. Dollars are too free to flow to other communities
There are merit in your ideas for economic growth however some of your previous articles and suggestions contradict and would make Cranbrook less competitive