City has its advantages

FROM PAGE 1 Millier Dickinson Blais Inc. is working with the City of Port Colborne and its economic development offi ce to develop an economic development plan for the city. Dickinson made his remarks during an economic development meeting at city hall Tuesday. His presentation was called Economic Development 2.0. Paul Blais, also spoke, and focused on advantages and disadvantages the city has when it comes to attracting new business and jobs, and what priorities it should set for the future. Dickinson started off his presentation talking about the ?old? economic development model; one that started in the 1920s in Georgia. Georgia Power was looking to increase it profi t and looked at who its major customers were. The utility recognized factories were the biggest clients and the ones that were paying the most. So, Georgia Power started chasing after factories, trying to attract as many to the state as it could. ?Other companies started to do the same and then municipalities started to do it as well. It was called smokestack chasing and it was the dominant model across North America in the ?50s, ?60s and ?70s. In the ?80s things started to change.? And when the change started to take place, Dickinson said, many communities were not prepared for it. Communities such as Flint, Mich., which relied heavily on manufacturing, started to see factories close down. And despite the closures, officials in Flint 64116916 believed they could attract other companies to fill those vacant buildings. But no other companies came and the city started to die off. ?At one time Detroit had a population of close to two million people, today it?s around 800,000. There are huge sections of the city that have been left empty.? Dickinson said neither Flint nor Detroit learned to adapt to the changes and the new economy that was emerging. He said adapting to change is hard, and talked about something he called the Napolean Factor ? doing something the same because it?s always been done that way. When Napolean was invading European countries in the 1800s, the English, Dickinson said, were worried about an invasion of their island nation. So they set up a person on a beach to watch for an invasion fleet and if that person saw a fl eet of ships, they would ring a bell. When people in a nearby village heard that bell, they would start to ring church bells and the next town would start to do the same. That alert system was left in place until 1945. Dickinson said municipalities have to realize they can?t do things the same way they used to. After talking about other economic theories and concepts, Dickinson said Port Colborne needs to position itself to take advantage of the new economy. Blais, also of Millier Dickinson Blais Inc., said the city has a number of advantages when it comes to the new economy and creating jobs. Those

You understand what businesses needs are; you guys get that businesses are a customer of the municipality.

Paul Blais of Millier Dickinson Blais Inc. advantages include: access to rail and the Welland Canal, a business-friendly approach, being a regional leader in manufacturing and having the highest number of residents in apprenticeships and trades. But with those advantages come disadvantages, he said. The city?s disadvantages, according to Blais, include a stagnant population ? the population has stayed virtually the same since 1991 ? low levels of university-educated residents, a lack of harmony on local-regional goals, a lack of shovel-ready industrial land and uncertainty over healthcare services. Despite the disadvantages, Blais said, people are the real strength when it comes to economic growth. ?Growth can happen by having the right people in the right businesses and you have that in spades in Port Colborne.? He said Port Colborne is also a city that understands the need to help existing business retain jobs and employees. ?You understand what businesses needs are; you guys get that businesses are a customer of the municipality.? djohnson@wellandtribune.ca FROM PAGE 1 He didn?t know the fi nal destination of the towers, but expected them to be sitting on the pier for a while before being shipped out. In addition to the towers, three giant piles of trap rock are sitting on the pier across from West St. Snider said the trap rock is being used by Dufferin Construction Co. for reconstruction of the QEW. The material will be part of the top course of asphalt on the highway. ?You can?t get it (trap rock) in this area and it?s easier to ship it in (to Port Colborne) than truck it in,? Snider said. Snider Dock Services also ships in salt, which is stored on the west pier of the canal between the city yard and ADM Milling, and had been shipping in gypsum. Snider said the gypsum probably won?t be coming back this year. The gypsum sat on the east pier in the same area the wind turbine towers are now being stored. Snider Dock Services and Quebec Stevedoring are also sharing an area at Port Weller. Snider said overdimensional cargo ? large cargo ? such as boilers from a St. Catharines company, is being shipped out from the Port Weller location the two companies share. ?Quebec Stevedoring has 23 facilities on the Great Lakes and are a really good company to work with. We?re expanding what we do with them and we?re doing a lot more quoting on jobs,? he said. Snider said Trillium Railway Co. Ltd. is looking at putting a rail line back into the Port Colborne property. A rail line used to run into the property back when Canada Furnace Co. was in operation. Snider said a new rail line would truly make Port Colborne a multimodal port on the Great Lakes, with rail, road and water all coming together. He said the city and Niagara Region are behind the idea.

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Wind turbines sitting on pier

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Mayor Vance Badawey said having a multi-modal port would reinforce the recent decision by the province to make the region the location of the only Gateway Economic Zone and Gateway Economic Centre in the province. A gateway is a geo- Vance Badawey graphic area through which significant incoming and outgoing transport/trade flows are distributed by means of transfer and transshipment. ?One of the reasons we were chosen is because of our port-related infrastructure. Water, rail and road are Port Colborne?s strengths,? said Badawey. Making the area a gateway zone gives the city a competitive advantage over other jurisdictions and can help usher in a ?new economy? to the area. ?Niagara has been dependent on the manufacturing industry as its No. 1 industry and the ?new economy? suggests investments like this will help the area.? Badawey said the multi-modal port and gateway zone will fi t in well with the city?s new economic development strategy now in development. With a multi-modal port, there?s more incentive and more advantages for new business to set up in Port Colborne or Niagara. Existing business can also take advantage of the port. ?Companies that have plants in other locations can look at consolidating in our area because of our transportation infrastructure. We have the means to move trade globally,? the mayor said. He said the partnership between Snider Dock Services and Quebec Stevedoring Company Ltd. is great news and is only the tip of the iceberg for Port Colborne. djohnson@wellandtribune.ca 1GOTPAIN

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