Township gets cash for business stimulation strategy
The Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen is getting $22,500 in provincial funding toward the development of a five-year strategy to stimulate business and tourism.
MPP Dave Smith was at the municipal offices in Havelock on Monday afternoon to make the funding announcement before a dozen township officials, including mayor-elect Jim Martin.
The township previously put $22,500 toward the project.
The provincial grant comes from the government’s Rural Economic Development (RED) Fund.
Smith said funding of $22,500 would be “lost” in a big city’s budget, but in smaller rural municipalities it “goes a long way”.
Mayor-elect Jim Martin concurred.
“For a small municipality, this means a lot,” he said.
The township has a staff member, Brian Grattan, who serves as both economic development officer and deputy clerk.
Grattan said on Monday the money will be used to hire a specialized consultant to help him develop a five-year strategy to attract new businesses, retain existing ones and to boost tourism.
The project will involve a lot of public consultation, he said.
That will mean canvassing businesspeople to see what they need, for example, or asking residents what they think the township needs in terms of business and tourism.
Grattan said he already knows it takes high-speed internet for business owners to set up shop in the township, or for existing business to flourish.
Connectivity is good in the village of Havelock, he said. “But there are pockets (in the township) where we have challenges.”
Meanwhile he’s expecting 100 new jobs when Havelock gets a new long-term care home that has is getting provincial funding (construction is expected to start in the spring of 2019).
In terms of tourism, the annual Havelock Jamboree already attracts about 35,000 county music fans for a weekend each August, with roughly 12,000 trailers on site.