Goderich, Ontario

GODERICH, ONTARIO contractors vying to be a part of their current expansion project.At our local airport,we’re concentrating on attracting a charter service and will continue to include funds in the bud- get for airport development.We’re considering new fuel dispensing equipment and a card-lock system, and runway repairs have been done.” BVM: How important are Public-Private Part- nerships? McCabe: “With 10 years as a Director of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partner- ships (CCPPP), I see the value in operational P3s and Goderich is engaged in a number of them. One is the harbour which is operated by a federally incorporated not-for-profit organi- zation collecting user fees for port projects and operations. The port and port area busi- nesses are the town’s main economic drivers. From 1999 to 2017, $29 million in user fees have gone into harbor break walls, river walls and piers. We’re working on a new agreement that would see additional projects determined in the port for future development. Years ago, we formed a local electricity dis- tribution company, Goderich Hydro, and we’re now working on a merger with eight other utility companies. It will be called Earth Pow- er. Those applications are now at the energy board. Goderich would be the centre for the northern operation of that company. The Town built a $19-million-dollar rec- reational facility in 2004 and it is operated under a P3 with the YMCA. The other part- nership is with Veolia Canada, which oper- ates our water and waste water facilities. The Town doesn’t have employees in that sector, or recreation, or police as they are OPP. Waste management has been contracted for years.Those are all operational P3s.The Town’s responsibility is to oversee and monitor these agreements.” BVM: Goderich had a major tornado hit the core area in 2011. Can you update us on Down- town Revitalization efforts? McCabe: “The tornado created havoc and affected the entire community.However, it also created an opportunity to rebuild which has now been done. One and two-storey buildings have grown a storey and added elevators, constructed to current code requirements that perhaps didn’t exist before. It also stimulated growth. Post-tornado,we put about $500,000 into a CIP (Community Improvement Plan) that created loans over and above our grants and above what insurance paid. So, the downtown core and some of the damaged residential areas have been rebuilt. There was an economic stimulation, in that many businesses that weren’t affected also had an oppor- tunity to improve their buildings through loan and grant allocations under the Planning Act.Our down- town has always been commercially strong, and the official plan was amended and rezoned to and the inclusion of residential units above commercial space.Additionally, the reconstruction was all com- pleted with the Town’s rich heritage in mind.” BVM: What does Goderich offer in terms of avail- able housing, connectivity, healthcare? McCabe: “We had a boundary adjustment a few years ago to include more land. Fusion Homes has an interest in building about 300 homes in that new area and they’re in the final stages of deliver- ing a subdivision agreement to the municipality. There’s also activity in other areas, so we could see controlled growth of new homes in the near future. That will stimulate greater growth in business and industry as well but at a low risk pace.Ten years ago,