By Jennifer Hoegg
Local businesspeople are trying to restart the defunct Kentville Development Corporation Limited, with a twist.
At a public meeting Dec. 7, interim president Bill Denyar proposed the group sponsor a Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF) to raise revenue through investment in a number of yet-to-be announced projects.
The former president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce told a crowd of more than 50 the rejuvenators of the dormant non-profit corporation “felt Kentville needed a business lead organization to attract new businesses, retain businesses and expand businesses.”
Founded in the early 1980s, the organization petered out around 2003 after the business improvement district taxes were phased out. The corporation continues to exist, with its shareholders defined as its members. Members of its interim board of directors include Doug Macdonald, Carl Kent, Doug Morrison, Gary Cleveland, Lee Morrison, Betty Ann Balcolm and Bruce Fagan.
Without a source of revenue, like the business improvement district levy, the organization needs a new business model, Denyar said. A CEDIF would be a separate entity, but it could fund corporation activities if it provided administrative services to the investment fund.
Denyar said Kentville is an attractive place to do business, but facing challenges including, low populations growth, outmigration of youth, an aging population, business consolidation and retail competition.
“Challenges do create opportunities,” he said, “for us in small town, rural Nova Scotia, we must evolve…
“We have no one to blame but ourselves if our town doesn’t live up to its potential. We are only limited by our imagination and our energy.”
Denyar fielded a number questions on how CEDIFs work and what the relationship between the two would be.
“The reason I wanted to use KDCL is it is known. It gets the attention of the town. It has some history. We’re talking about the corporation evolving to a new role,” he said after the meeting.
Denyar distributed a brief survey on interest in the CEDIF and said the organization’s next steps would be to work on a business model, update a membership list and hold a business meeting in the early 2012.
What was KDCL?
Bob Hainstock, who was manager of the Kentville Development Corporation Limited for seven years in its previous incarnation, said the corporation was “an instrument of development” that “worked pretty tightly with the town for mutual goals.”
Achievements, he said, include the creation of the pumpkin people festival, the town slogan and the initiation of a trail park system.
“I think a lot of those functions are in house now.”
What is a CEDIF?
“A CEDIF is a pool of capital, formed through the sale of shares (or units), to persons within a defined community, created to operate or invest in local business. It cannot be charitable, non-taxable, or not-for-profit, and must have at least six directors elected from their defined community.”
Investment in CEDIFs qualify for tax credits under the Equity Tax Credit, are RRSP eligible, can attract and retain local investment dollars.
However, the province’s economic development department cautions the funds require investment expertise, follow securities procedures and carry a relatively high level of risk for investors.
Local CEDIF sponsored projects include Just Us Coffee and The Port Pub.
Source: www.gov.ns.ca/econ/cedif
