City’s economic development strategy now turning inward

As part of the plan, 100 local businesses will be surveyed to find out what they need from the city to grow

Penticton’s new economic development strategy will be more inward looking than past versions, council heard during a preview Tuesday. The new strategy is being developed with the assistance of a consultant, Colin O’Leary, who cited research that shows most new jobs are created by existing businesses, highlighting the need for business retention and expansion as well as attracting new companies.

As a first step towards preparing a new fiveyear plan, 100 local businesses will be surveyed to find out what they need from the city to grow.

“They probably have some fantastic ideas for us to focus on going forward, and it’s really just asking (for ideas) and turning them into initiatives and programs that can support them going forward,” said O’Leary.

Those initiatives and programs will then be inserted into the plan along with schedules for action items and reporting out the results.

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said he supports the new direction, which was instigated by the city parting ways in March with former economic development officer Colleen Pennington, who was in the job for five years.

“I think in the past (economic development) was maybe more a bit more of a shotgun approach, versus now sort of identifying priorities and what we can really achieve and what we can measure,” said Jakubeit.

Shortly after O’Leary’s presentation, the city fired off a press release that quoted officials from the Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce and Penticton Industrial District Association expressing support for the new direction.

One other notable shift in the new strategy moves economic development — which in the past was contracted to the chamber of commerce before being moved in-house as a stand-alone city department — under development services, headed by Anthony Haddad.

Haddad explained that his portfolio covers a wide range of city staff, from bylaws to planning to engineering, all of which have a role in economic development.

City manager Peter Weeber said O’Leary was recommended by counterparts in Kelowna and is being paid an hourly fee as needed from the existing economic development budget, which is set at $670,000 for this year.

They probably have some fantastic ideas for us to focus on going forward, and it’s really just asking (f or ideas) and turning them into initiatives and programs that can support them going forward. Consultant Colin O’Leary