Councillor, mayor defend downtown BIA contribution
Posted Feb 4, 2010 By Jeff Maguire
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Tweet ThisEMC Business - Ralph Shaw is passionate about the downtown business district in Carleton Place as well as the local Business Improvement Association (BIA) of which he is a past chair. So much so that he makes an annual plea for more financial input from the Town of Carleton Place.
Last Thursday night, during the BIA's 2010 annual general meeting (AGM), the gloves came off as Shaw sparred with councillor Dennis Burn, the town's BIA representative. Mayor Paul Dulmage also leaped to the town's defence in another rebuttal to Shaw's verbal assault.
The sometimes colourful showdown was the main highlight of the AGM which attracted 75 people to Carleton Heritage Inn.
The session was going like clockwork until long-time BIA vice-chair Nancy Code-Miller invited questions about the organization's budget which she had just outlined to the assembly.
Anticipating Shaw's annual interjection she invited the local businessman to take the microphone.
Shaw, a long-time local realtor who manages Partners Advantage GMAC Real Estate Brokerage (a BIA member business) on Bridge St., declined. He spoke from his table at the opposite end of the meeting room.
Shaw once again took aim at the amount of money the town puts aside for the BIA in its annual budget, as well as what he considers to be an unfair financial burden placed on downtown businesses by the town. This year the municipal contribution will rise marginally from $12,360 (in 2009) to $12,720.
However, Shaw reserved his main assault for the so-called "Main Street Project Repayment." The BIA is paying $20,000 annually for 20 years as its portion of a Bridge St. revitalization program completed in the summer of 2004. The BIA, which represents 150 retail and other businesses in a defined geographic area of Carleton Place (primarily the downtown business district including Bridge St.) is in the fifth year of the 20-year program.
"The main street repayment is simply unacceptable," Shaw lashed out.
The $20,000 annual repayment, from a total BIA budget of less than $160,000 this year, goes to the Town of Carleton Place.
In 2004 the town paid the BIA portion of the work which included new street lights and signs, sidewalk and interlocking brick repairs and a number of other mainly cosmetic changes. All of the work occurred along Bridge St., Carleton Place's main downtown thoroughfare. The cost of the program was divided three ways with the town, BIA and the province of Ontario chipping in.
Code-Miller explained the project and the repayment plan, which the BIA board of management approved in 2004, in answer to an earlier question from a businessman who was not here when the work was completed.
WAIVE REPAYMENT
Shaw feels the town should waive the repayment program, freeing up $20,000 a year which the BIA could use to fulfill its primary mandate of marketing and promoting downtown Carleton Place businesses.
"If you live somewhere else in Carleton Place you (taxpayer) don't pay (directly) for the new sidewalk the town installs in front of your house," Shaw argued.
"Why do we (merchants) have to pay for downtown sidewalks?"
The businessman was repeating an argument he has advanced in the past. Previously he has said "council is abandoning its responsibility" noting that every other street in the community of 10,000 (except Bridge Street) is maintained by the town.
BIA member businesses pay a special tax (it is included in their regular tax bills) to the town which in turns underwrites the cost of operating the organization which promotes (markets) the designated area, beautifies the district (with flowers and lights) and acts as liaison between member businesses and town council. The BIA tax is mandatory, not optional.
Shaw also took issue with the annual maintenance costs incurred by the BIA in relation to the much heralded downtown tree lighting program which was also launched in 2004, when 28 trees were wrapped with several hundred thousand decorative LED lights.
The program, which has garnered much favourable publicity for the town, was a joint initiative of the BIA and the town. Therefore Shaw feels the maintenance costs should also be split.
In her budget synopsis Code-Miller said the 2009 maintenance costs for the lights was substantially "over budget". The BIA has changed contractors in an effort to lower costs. However, the $10,000 budgeted for the "LED Beautification Project" was eclipsed by the actual cost of $16,299.96.
The board of management has allocated $12,000 in the 2010 budget and Code-Miller says they are "hopeful we can keep it (maintenance) within budget."
Shaw, however, was not appeased.
"The whole lighting project falls on the BIA. Why isn't the municipality paying 50 per cent," he asked.
Shaw also jabbed downtown retailers when, in reference to plans by the town to improve downtown street lighting, he said, "Most merchants don't choose to be awake after dark."
There is an ongoing debate in Carleton Place over store hours, with many people (including the BIA and council) advocating much longer hours, including night-time openings on Thursday and Friday.
Rob Probert, BIA member and former board chair who currently heads the Town of Carleton Place Stakeholders Committee, spoke earlier in Thursday's meeting.
He told the gathering that during his committee's deliberations "the two most important items identified (which need to be addressed) were retail mix and store hours."
The BIA has urged downtown merchants to get together and come up with more uniform store hours. Chair Keith Rouble, who recently sold his downtown business The Granary (a health and bulk foods store), made an impassioned plea for longer and more uniform store hours during last year's AGM.
"I realize it is the ongoing debate," Probert commented. "You can't flip a switch and make the downtown perfect.
"But we need more retail - everyone feels that way."
EQUAL TREATMENT
In closing his argument, aimed at eliciting more financial support from the town, Shaw said he believes "we (downtown businesses) should be treated equally, like the rest of the town.
"Right now we are being parasited by council," he charged noting that "one-third of the (BIA) budget is for flowers (summer beautification program)."
This year's hanging flower basket program is set at $17,000, although during its 2010 budget deliberations late last year, town council agreed to pay for the watering of the flower baskets. That will save the BIA an estimated $8,000 annually.
"All I am saying is that you have to look at the budget deeper.
"It's a rotten deal!"
Councillor Burn, who is the longest serving member of Carleton Place council (he will mark three full terms - 10 years in office - this fall), responded to Shaw's charges. As mentioned he is the long-time council representative on the BIA board of management.
Burn delivered a check list of town spending, all authorized by council, in the downtown area.
"The municipal (contribution) is listed at just over $12,000. The figure is more like $300,000," he states.
He noted that several years ago council approved rapid snow removal in the downtown area following winter storms.
"That costs $50,000 a year. And I think everyone (merchants) has been very satisfied with that."
Noting that the BIA office rental in the Town Hall (their office is on the main floor) is listed at $600 (annually) in the budget, Burn said if market value was taken into consideration "it (rent) could be $1,000 a month."
In her earlier synopsis Code-Miller noted that although the BIA puts $600 in rent money aside in its annual budget "the town has not actually collected it (for some time)."
During his rebuttal Burn also mentioned the flower watering approved by council and pointed to the "tourist centre" and "the Moore House," which is expected to become the temporary home for the newly authorized "Roy Brown museum."
"That will be a major tourist attraction and it (renovations to the historic log home) could cost $400,000."
Including highway signage and a number of other council-driven initiatives, Burn calculated that the town could be putting as much as "$1.61 million" toward the downtown.
Shaw countered with some additional thoughts noting that the recently approved public transit (commuter bus) initiative, partly underwritten by the town, could be folly for downtown Carleton Place.
"We're spending $150,000 on buses that (could) take shoppers into Ottawa from Carleton Place!"
Referring to the budget process he remarked, "Don't take everything at face value."
MAYOR'S ADDRESS
Although he wasn't listed as a speaker on the agenda for the AGM, Mayor Dulmage strode to the podium and offered his own rebuttal to Shaw's claims.
He promised he wouldn't take "the Dalton McGuinty (Ontario premier) approach - deflect and defer."
Dulmage says the LED light (tree lighting) project alone is "much more expensive" than the BIA budget indicates and says the town has underwritten a much higher portion of the total cost.
"It is not the responsibility of municipal government to make a healthy retail core," he chided those in attendance.
The mayor says council has heavily supported the downtown throughout his tenure. Dulmage, who is expected to seek a third term in office this October, is in his seventh year as the town's chief executive.
Referring to his own predictions, prior to becoming mayor, he said that with no change in store hours the (retail) vacancies he forecast for Bridge St. have come true.
In what some of those in attendance later called "a pre-election speech" Dulmage said Carleton Place is now "the No. 1 retail centre (in terms of total dollars spent) in Lanark County." He claims the town was "second from bottom" when he took office.
The mayor even predicted "who will survive" among BIA member businesses, citing several by name.
Dulmage says "traffic is building" in the downtown area and says that is mainly due to the service industry (rather than retail business) on the street today.
"Council's commitment (to the downtown) is unprecedented," he told the meeting.
He referred to the downtown as "the heart of the community" and said no community can survive "without its heart." The mayor predicts better days ahead for the central business core, if those involved follow the direction he believes has been made clear to them.
Despite the lengthy verbal sparring session the 2010 budget was ultimately approved by a margin of 16-4 in the subsequent vote conducted by Code-Miller and BIA coordinator Cathie McOrmond.
It calls for total spending of $157,752.94 in 2010. Included is total administration costs of $74,730 which includes staff and student salaries as well as the controversial $20,000 main street project repayment.
The marketing and promotion budget, the second highest total in the overall document, stands at $54,022.94 which is just a few dollars less than what was actually spent last year. The 2009 marketing and promotion budget had called for $51,454 in spending.
The "Community Development" section of the BIA budget is set at $29,000 and includes spending on both the summer floral beautification and winter tree lighting programs.
Also during last Thursday's session Burn outlined the BIA's accomplishments and underlined the mandate and objectives of the organization. McOrmond presented the considerable 2010 events list - a litany of activities and initiatives the BIA will be involved in during this calendar year.
NOTE - Watch for a future story in the EMC on some of the organization's plans for this year, including a number of new activities the Carleton Place BIA will operate or support.
