Present: Carol Armstrong, McMurrich/Monteith; Jeff Johnston, USCO; Kimberly Bester, Powassan; Emily Ryan, IION, Ron Begin, FedNor; Dave Stewart, Almaguin Highlands Inc.
Carol Armstrong/McMurrich Monteith
Carol reported that new signage has been purchased for two of their cemeteries. The Recreation Group is putting on a Christmas Social on December 6th from 4 to 7 pm. There will be a movie night on November 21st at the Community Centre, where The Minions will be shown. They are hoping to purchase a larger projection screen shortly. The McMurrich Monteith 125th anniversary is planned for August 13th ; the event will consist of a Friday night dinner where dignitaries and municipal representatives will be invited and a Saturday fun activity day for families. There has been some discussion at Council regarding potentially changing the McMurrich Monteith Name to Sprucedale but nothing has been decided upon yet.
Kimberley Bester/Powassan
The Christmas Artisan Market will take place on Saturday, November 21st from 9 am to 4 pm in Powassan. The 3rd annual Smoke ‘n Spurs Parade of Lights is scheduled for Saturday, December 5th, with the parade starting at 6 pm, followed by a free family skate and hot chocolate and cookies at the Sportsplex from 7:30 to 9:00. The Municipality is hosting their 3rd annual Christmas Tree decorating contest for local businesses and Christmas banner contest for children (the latter sponsored by the Smoke ‘n Spurs Rodeo). There will be a New Year’s celebration at the Trout Creek Community Centre on December 31st, with fire works, horse and wagon rides, hot chocolate and hot dogs, followed by a licensed New Year’s eve dance.
Carole Mantha, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
The Business Retention and Expansion Project is progressing well, with three successful launches held in October. There will be two training sessions next week for volunteers (South River on Tuesday, November 24th and Burks Falls on Thursday, November 26th). The involved community reps are in the process of providing their business target lists at this time. Interviews will take place ???? for the new economic development intern for Kearney, McMurrich Monteith, Perry and Magnetewan. The intern, once hired, will report to an economic development committee comprised of representatives from the four communities. The deadline for the RED program applications is January 15, 2016. This program is being directed by OMAFRA. The Funder’s Forum in Burks Falls in October was well attended. The Northern Communities Investment Readiness program application, being delivered through MNDM, has a deadline of December 4, 2015. This program is centred on assisting communities become investment ready.
Emily Ryan/IION
They have three in-house programs at this time:
The Step Forward Program;
IAFP; and
The Youth Entire.
There will be a Youth Entrepreneural session held at Canadore on ???? which is focused on students studying in the trades. The ION award of excellence will be presented on December 1st to ????. Dec 14 ???? North Bay and Bailer University out of the US will be partnering - ???? – economic development students???
Ron Begin, FedNor
Northern Ontario now has 7 liberal representatives after the Federal Election. Projects that have been initiated already could potentially begin moving forward in December, with a new approval process potentially being put into place shortly as well.
Jeff Johnston/USCO
The Ralph Brice Project is progressing, with the committee now working on a business plan for the project. The project is expected to be comprised of a wilderness experience component, a museum, conference facility, interpretative centre, authentic trapper’s cottages, etc. It is hoped that partnerships can be achieved with other ministries, i.e. MNR, MNDM, as well as business groups, i..e Hudson Bay, for this project. The Mayor has committed to initiating this project within the next 3 years during his term of council. The project will be located in “Granny White’s Field”, on a 72-76 acre parcel. The Economic Development Committee is interested in providing public wifi. The Lions Fun Fair will take place on November 28th, with Santa in attendance, a flea market, craft tables, silent auction and lunch/dinner being served. The Lions Christmas telethon will take place on December 5th in North Bay. The Seniors Christmas Dinner will take place on December 3rd with a Single Seniors’ Dinner scheduled for December 10th (the latter by invitiation only). The United Senior Citizens of Ontario will have their zone meeting on January 15, 2016, with the Minister of Finance providing a guest speaker to discuss the benefits available for seniors, i.e. rebates, tax savings, etc.
Dave Stewart, Almaguin Highlands Inc.
The Sprucedale Seniors who operate a thrift store out of the old school house are discussing options for funding so that they may retain the use of the school house, which has been slated for sale. It has been suggested that there is the need for them to register as a non-profit corporation in order to be eligible for funding, etc.
Back to AHED Minutes and News