2020-02-04 Growth Committee Agenda Packet - Open Session
Growth Committee Meeting
Open Session
December 17, 2019
MINUTES - OPEN SESSION GROWTH COMMITTEE MEETING
DECEMBER 17, 2019 AT 12:00 P.M.
TH
8 FLOOR COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBER (Ludlow Room), CITY HALL
Present: Mayor D. Darling
Deputy Mayor McAlary
Councillor J. MacKenzie
Councillor B. Armstrong
Councillor D. Hickey
Absent: Councillor R. Strowbridge
Also
Present: City Manager J. Collin
Commissioner Growth and Community Development J. Hamilton
Deputy Commissioner Building and Inspection Services A. Poffenroth
Deputy Commissioner Growth and Community Development P. Ouellette
Population Growth Manager D. Dobbelsteyn
Administrative Assistant K. Tibbits
1. Meeting Called To Order
Mayor Darling called the Growth Committee open session meeting to order.
1.1 Approval of Minutes October 15, 2019
Moved by Deputy Mayor McAlary, seconded by Councillor Hickey:
RESOLVED that the minutes of October 15, 2019 be approved.
MOTION CARRIED.
1.2 Growing in Saint John Presentation Percy Wilbur, Developer
The Growing in Saint John series shares success stories in the City and provides an opportunity
to profile local businesses, leaders, newcomers, investors, and entrepreneurs. Mr. Ouellette
introduced Mr. Percy Wilbur, Developer and Entrepreneur, and commented on his contribution
Mr. Wilbur commented on his journey including his beginnings as a garden centre business
owner, to major developer of residential and commercial properties, including unsightly and
challenging properties within the city core. His current project at 95 Wentworth Street is his
biggest project to date. This project will house 83 high-end apartments including two
underground parking garages, car washes, charging stations for electric vehicles, dog wash
station, bike repair station, gym, spa, and a meeting/community room.
Moved by Councillor Armstrong, seconded by Councillor Hickey:
RESOLVED that the presentation from Mr. Percy Wilbur, Developer, be received for
information.
Growth Committee Meeting
Open Session
December 17, 2019
MOTION CARRIED.
(Councillor Armstrong withdrew from the meeting)
1.3 Immigration Survey and Succeed and Stay Program
Mr. Ouellette noted that a focus of Council has been on population growth. A funding
partnership of over $500K was secured with the federal and provincial governments for the
Succeed and Stay program.
Mr. Dobbelsteyn, referring to the submitted report, commented on feedback collected through
the Succeed and Stay initiative/research project phase to determine why immigrants / new
residents succeed and stay in a community with a goal of encouraging newcomers to remain
long-term. The final phase of the project will begin in the Spring of 2020 and include steps to
become a more welcoming community and to become more integrated in our approach.
In response to a question, Mr. Dobbelsteyn stated that additional data related to the types of
jobs that are available in the region is being gathered, adding that the province has released
forecasts of where the jobs will be over the next ten years. The issue includes matching skills
and education with workforce requirements, as well as barriers in language. Many newcomers
are highly educated and job ready, and this fact must be communicated to prospective
employers in the community. A shift is required in the community and by hiring managers, to
Mayor Darling suggested that the City develop a Diversity Policy and lead the way in terms of
hiring new immigrants when possible and become a hub for co-op placements.
Moved by Deputy Mayor McAlary, seconded by Councillor MacKenzie:
Supercharging
MOTION CARRIED.
(Deputy Mayor McAlary withdrew from the meeting)
1.4 2020 Growth Committee Schedule
Moved by Councillor MacKenzie, seconded by Councillor Hickey:
RESOLVED that the Growth Committee approves the recommended meeting dates for 2020 as
submitted.
MOTION CARRIED.
1.5 Process Improvements: Infrastructure
1.6 Customer Service Improvements: Growth and Community Development
Ms. Hamilton commented on the progress made towards customer service improvements,
aimed at increasing growth, in collaboration with DevelopSJ to improve the One-Stop
Development Shop.
Referring to the submitted presentation, Mr. McKiel commented on the Infrastructure
Development Project. In addition to providing infrastructure development information to
consultants and developers, another 20 plus service improvements are associated with this
project. Following the research phase of the project, strategic improvements were developed
to address key issues to provide impactful service solutions.
Growth Committee Meeting
Open Session
December 17, 2019
Community Development Services D
enhancements underway in the One-Stop Development Shop. The goal is to reduce barriers to
encourage growth and improve processes to reduce red tape. The PSAPS project specifically
focused on addressing time, risk and communication. Consultants and developers reported a
20% improvement in their overall service experience over a four month period. The PSAPS
project will continue in 2020 as improvements continue to be made to improve customer
service to support smart growth.
Moved by Councillor Hickey, seconded by Councillor MacKenzie:
Development Shop Growth & Community Development Services Developer & Staff Survey
MOTION CARRIED.
Adjournment
The open session meeting of the Growth Committee held on December 17, 2019 was adjourned
at 1:35 p.m.
______________________________________
Recording Secretary
February 4, 2020
PRESENTATION
2021
-
orkforce Development
usiness Investment & Innovation
ntrepreneur Development
WBEMarketing the Greater Saint John Story
ighlights of 2019
Strategic Goals 2019HLooking at 2020Areas of Focus:
KEY CONCEPTS COVERED
by Statistics Canada. (2018)
increased from 62,500 to 66,200 (6% increase) increased from 66,600 to 70,900 (6.5% increase)
--
Goal of 2.5% increase per year (from 62,500* to 67,305)2019 Outcome Goal of 2.5% increase per year (from 66,600* to 71,720) 2019 Outcome Goal of 0.5% greater than provincial GDP**By
1 index point per year***
(Average of 1%)(Average of 99.1)
INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENTINCREASE IN LABOUR FORCEINCREASE IN GDPINCREASE IN CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
*Average of the Monthly Seasonally Adjusted Labour Force and Employment Numbers ** Provincial Numbers will not be available until the end of Q1 2020 *** We are working to obtain these
numbers
2021
-
2019
ups launched.
-
HIGHLIGHTS 2019
jobs created.
Filled in excess of 350 previously unfilled jobs.There are 887 active clients interested in working and living in Saint John. The highest concentration of candidates are those with skills
and experience in Information Technology at 220 candidates.117 jobs created.Innovation District taskforce was established. Worked closely with UNBSJ to relocate the MBA program to Uptown
Saint John.39 start67 Brought on two new programs to support immigrant entrepreneurs. Loan portfolio now exceeds $1 million.ASK GSJ and \[We ASKED\] campaigns launched; to date garnering
over 174k in impressions and 5.4k in engagements.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENTBUSINESS INVESTMENT & INNOVATIONENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPMENTMARKETING GREATER SAINT JOHN
term economic growth for the Greater
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VISION Consistent, longSaint John region. AREAS OF FOCUS Building on our regional strengths, we must focus on workforce development, entrepreneur development, business investment and
innovation, and marketing Greater Saint John to grow the economy. ALIGNMENT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT This is a plan to guide our efforts, but it is meant to be a galvanizing vision and
set of goals that will impact multiple economic development organizations. ACTION The intentional actions of the plan will drive measurable outcomes towards strategic goals.
-
start
scaleable
ENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPMENT Build the Saint John entrepreneurial ecosystem with a focus on ups. MARKETING GREATER SAINT JOHN Tell the Greater Saint John story to attract people, investment,
and support the growth of our companies.
AREAS OF FOCUS
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Attract and retain talent to support the growth of existing companies and attract new companies to our region. BUSINESS INVESTMENT & INNOVATION Promote the value
proposition for investment and support companies in being globally competitive.
Promote international students and newcomers as a valuable talent pool for employers.Provide resources to employers to improve recruitment and onboarding of international students and
newcomers.Ensure international students and spouses are prepared to enter the workforce.Partner with key stakeholders to implement initiatives that build the talent pipeline.
KEY ACTIONS
150
25
-
-
50k in impressions
-
YEAR GOAL
-
Employment Readiness international students and spouses are employment ready.Awareness and 2,000 engagements.Employer Engagement companies engage in workforce solutions that demonstrate
an openness to hiring international students and newcomers.
Build an integrated community model that ensures Greater Saint John companies can attract and retain talent.
YEAR TWO TARGETS Build talent pipeline with employers with a focus on international students, newcomers and their spouses.
THREE
entrepreneurs.
Newcomer
profit organizations invested in
-
sectors.
YEAR GOAL
-
300 jobs created through Investment Attraction.Sales presentation made to 2005 companies committed to developing the Innovation District.
Working closely with ONB, the region will have secured significant investment in the ICT, Cybersecurity, Energy, Digital Health and LogisticsPublic, private and nondevelopment of an
Innovation District in Uptown Saint John.
YEAR TWO TARGETS
THREE Business InvestmentInnovation
Innovation
a Saint John
and to develop a
initial financing sources
Innovation Districts to determine
District.
in the
location for the next phase of the
the business case and establish
tenants.
DevelopCybersecurity Innovation Centre.Complete research onoptimal structure, best practicesbusiness plan.Secure aDistrict and determineandLeverage influence of taskforce to promote
participationWork with the health research community to develop marketing materials and a strategy to increase awareness of our local research capabilities.Establish a National FTZ
Network to promote best practices and share opportunities.Continue to work with ONB to optimize activities in the attraction of new businesses and investment.
KEY ACTIONS INNOVATIONKEY ACTIONS BUSINESS INVESTMENT
-
ups and 70 new jobs.
-
ups.
-
secondary institutions, industry and
-
class programming by partnering more
-
ups and scale
in
-
-
YEAR GOAL
-
secondary partnerships drive a new level of growth in
-
Support the launch of 35 startEnhance the existing 10 programs with a focus on startups that can scale to $1M in sales and 10+ employees.Develop bestclosely with postsubject matter experts.Increase
the size of our Entrepreneur Development client portfolio.
A strong entrepreneurial pipeline, industry engagement and postSaint John start
THREE YEAR TWO TARGETSKEY ACTIONS
Relocation of entrepreneurial programs to the UNB MBA building
Q2 2020
opportunities
YEAR GOAL
-
Develop and execute 3 marketing campaigns including phase 2 of ASK GSJ. Pitch and have published 8 stories per year. Deliver 12 monthly, 4 quarterly and 1 annual report.
YEAR TWO TARGETS
THREE Cultivate a positive image of the community and itsinternally/externally resulting in Greater Saint John being recognized as an excellent place for people to live, work, and invest
in.
Deliver consistent communications to community stakeholders on marketing projects and programming that support core projects and areas of focus.Strengthen relationship with media, positioning
EDGSJ as the go to for information on economic development issues.Provide monthly, quarterly and annual reporting of measurements and metrics on all activities of the organization.
KEY ACTIONS COMMUNICATIONS
term economic
-
Bring to life the vision of consistent, longgrowth for the Greater Saint John region to a local, national and international audience.Drive general understanding of economic development
within the community. Roll out phase 2 of the ASK GSJ campaign. Collaborate with internal stakeholders to develop a strategic marketing communications plan including the production
of related assets to drive awareness of key programs and initiatives.
KEY ACTIONS MARKETING