KENTVILLE, N.S. — The Valley Regional Enterprise Network (REN) has lost one municipal partner but is gaining another.
Wolfville Mayor Jeff Cantwell has confirmed that, as of April 1, the town is no longer a member of the Valley REN. Annapolis Royal Mayor Bill MacDonald confirmed that, as of April 1, their town is the newest member of the regional enterprise network.
“We’re excited to be part of the regional economic development that others enjoy throughout the Valley,” MacDonald said in an April 4 voice message.
Cantwell said that, under the contract with the REN, a partner municipality has to give one year’s notice before withdrawing. Wolfville town council approved a motion three years ago to give notice. The next year, council decided to stay onboard but kept their letter of intent to withdraw on file with the REN.
After another year passed, council again decided to extend the town’s membership. Cantwell said things seemed to be “stalling” with the REN but there were changes in the works.
“This year, when it came up, council revisited the situation once again and we felt – council - that there were better vehicles out there to utilize public economic development monies,” Cantwell said.
He said town council is welcoming of opportunities. However, after several years of contributing $23,000 per year to the REN and evaluating tangible results, council felt that the town was better off finding its own way on the economic development front.
Cantwell said the town would engage and partner with other municipalities and entities, such as Acadia University, through its own office of economic development.
He said the town remains a member of the Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce and has given a grant to the organization using funds that would have been allocated to the REN.
“We’re not pulling ourselves away from playing regionally, we just feel that being committed to that organization (Valley REN) at this particular time was not in our best interest,” Cantwell said.
He said if there comes a point that there “is some activity at a reasonable level”, town council would reconsider joining - if the organization would have Wolfville back. Cantwell said they recognize that there is new leadership on the REN’s volunteer board of directors.
VALLEY REN REACTION
Valley REN board chairman Dave Ritcey, who took on the volunteer position in October, said he has been critical of the REN in the past. He decided that he could either continue to critique or “roll up his sleeves, dig in and make a difference.”
He said they have held a number of meetings with partner municipalities. His read of the situation is that member councils have done due diligence in checking in with the REN and making sure that it is operating smoothly and providing good economic development value to taxpayers.
“I can confirm, hear me loud and clear, there is no other municipality that has given us notice that they have any intention to withdraw,” Ritcey said.
He said it is disappointing to have a partner drop out but he doesn’t believe Wolfville was ever really on board with the regional enterprise network model. Ritcey said he believes there was good value for the money for Wolfville, especially considering that the town’s overall operating budget for the coming fiscal year is $10.7 million.
“I’ll be honest with you, it is going to make our life very difficult to focus on strategic, Valley-wide initiatives and have to ignore Wolfville as we go forward with that,” Ritcey said.
He said the loss of Wolfville’s contribution isn’t going to have that much of a financial impact. Since the province matches municipal contributions, it represents a loss of $46,000. The other partners are going to have to decide whether or not to cover the $23,000 that used to come from Wolfville so they can still leverage the matching funds.
“It’s $46,000 on an over half a million-dollar budget, so it is manageable,” Ritcey said.
He said the Valley REN is focusing on “projects of significance” and high return on investments. The workforce is the number-one strategic issue for the Valley.
For example, he said Michelin needs 400 to 500 new employees over the next four years because of upcoming retirements while BioVectra is bringing 110 jobs to West Hants. The Valley has to be able to attract those workers and their families.
“The REN is essentially working with these manufacturers to try to figure out strategies and how best to attract these workers into the area,” Ritcey said.
He said the REN has $100,000 available this year to market the Annapolis Valley in terms of attracting new people, businesses and tourism dollars.
Ritcey said he doesn’t believe that Wolfville council did its homework in deciding to withdraw and he didn’t receive one call from a Wolfville councillor about it. He doesn’t believe the decision is based on the REN’s performance over the last six months.
“Frankly, we all need to do a little bit better job communicating all of the different things that we’re doing,” he said.
OTHER PARTNERS WEIGH IN
The other current members of the Valley REN include the towns of Berwick, Kentville, Middleton and Windsor; the Municipality of the County of Kings, the Municipality of the District of West Hants and Glooscap First Nation.
An attempt was made to contact the mayor, warden or chief representing each partner unit. Of those who were reached for comment – West Hants, Middleton and Berwick - all confirmed continuing support for the Valley REN.
West Hants Warden Abraham Zebian said their council met with the REN two weeks ago and has “recommitted our support of the organization.”
He said it’s been five years since the REN was established and there has been a lack of communication or strategic vision with regard to what the partners are looking for. However, going forward, West Hants council believes the organization has “the right board, the right people in place now” and they’re excited to see what the REN will do.
Middleton Mayor Sylvester Atkinson said their council would continue to support the REN. He said he hasn’t heard “an earthly rumble” when it comes to any partners withdrawing support.
“When you’re in something like that, you don’t expect miracles overnight or anything,” Atkinson said. “You have to be there for the long haul and have confidence and faith that they’re doing the right things and so on, and we feel that they are, and bit by bit we’ll get there.”
Berwick Mayor Don Clarke, who is a member of the Valley REN’s liaison and oversight committee, said their council has agreed that they wish to stay a part of the REN, at least for now. In terms of stimulating economic development, they see good value for the money with all partners contributing and the province matching funds.
He and the majority on council agree that this is the best way to encourage a regional economic development effort and what’s good for the Valley is good for Berwick.
Clarke said it has taken a while for the REN to get up to speed. There have been changes in staff but it’s now “ready to function fully.”
“We’re looking forward to some great results from this,” he said.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The Valley Regional Enterprise Network was incorporated in March 2014, following the dissolution of Regional Development Authorities, including the Kings RDA.
- The funding formula for REN partners is based on uniform tax assessment.
- The Valley REN is governed by a volunteer liaison and oversight committee and a volunteer board of directors with members from the private sector.
GO ONLINE:
For more information on the Valley REN, visit www.valleyren.ca.
RELATED:
