"On September 13th, the bylaw that was last looked at in 2004 for the BIA will be reviewed by council and I’m going to be appointed by my colleagues to sit on the board for the remainder of the term.”
- Collingwood Mayor Chris Carrier

An ongoing dispute between the Town of Collingwood and Downtown Business Improvement Association has triggered the resignation of the BIA’s Chairperson.  In his resignation letter, BIA Chairperson Jeff Shearer that over the last nine months, the BIA has run into a serious impasse over the OMAFRA project (initially named the Main Street project) over a jointly signed agreement that outlines how the project would be managed and the role the BIA would play.  “In an attempt to resolve this difference the BIA has asked repeatedly for meetings with you (Mayor Carrier) and senior staff to request that the town adhere to the signed agreement so we could proceed together.”

Shearer stated despite several meetings with Mayor Carrier and CAO, Kim Wingrove, the BIA has not been able to resolve the differences.  “In our unanimous board opinion the town has breached our agreement.  Consequently we as the BIA board had no other option but to withdraw from the project.  We continued to hope that the town would reverse its position and adhere to the agreement but clearly there has been no movement on the issue.”

Shearer said that he hoped his resignation would clear up any possible personality issues between Mayor Carrier, the CAO and himself.  “Perhaps a new Chair can resolve the differences between the BIA and the town, and in so doing get the project back on the rails with the BIA’s full involvement.”
      
Along with Shearer’s resignation, Collingwood Mayor Chris Carrier will replace councillor Kathy Jeffery as council’s BIA representative.  Carrier said the changes are helping to move the project forward.  “The town has been in communication with the province and the province really wants to see this project completed, as do we.”  Mayor Carrier said this project is similar to the previous Main Streets Program which was shelved when the new project was launched by the provincial government.

“I believe we are one of six communities across Ontario on this program.  All of the data collected will be used by the province to re-vamp a funding program for other communities.”  The original agreement would have seen the BIA and Town each contribute $25,000 each year over the three year project period.  The provincial government is contributing $150,000. 

Appearing on Georgian Bay Today on 97.7 The Beach, Carrier said that some of the objectives of the program may be modified.  “The position and how the project is managed are done through a steering committee, not council, not the BIA.  The committee consists of seven individuals from the community, six of whom are BIA members, so yes it has strong BIA influence but the steering committee is focused on the objectives of the program as established by the province of Ontario.”

Carrier said the relationship between the BIA and the Town is strong.  “We have a very strong relationship.  We’ve made millions of dollars of investment in the downtown core.  We continue as a community to advocate that banks stay in the downtown core.  We continue to work with the BIA on zoning issues to protect the integrity of the downtown core, unlike a lot of other communities that saw uncontrolled growth triggering negative effects in their downtown core. 
Carrier said that while changes have been made and the relationship between the Town and the BIA remains strong, there remain concerns. 

“Does it mean that we’re happy over everything?  No.  We’re not, but we’re going to work professionally to resolve that.  On September 13th, the bylaw that was last looked at in 2004 for the BIA will be reviewed by council and I’m going to be appointed by my colleagues to sit on the board for the remainder of the term.”  Carrier said he will be able to totally focus on the situation at hand since he is not running an election campaign.  “The CAO and I will be working with the BIA board to better understand the bylaw that was passed in 2004 and making sure that the processes and policies that are in place so that this municipal services board that acts on behalf of the Town of Collingwood is doing so appropriately.  Am I saying they have been acting inappropriately?  No.  I’m saying that there are terms and conditions of the bylaw that we want them to comply with, so I don’t want people to over react to what I am saying.  We just want the policies and process in place so that public accountability and transparency is there.”