From the Rush:
Maureen Pinkney:
100 Mile Mayoral candidate Maureen Pinkney says she’s running because the District needs more energy injected into Council to get some things happening in town.
Pinkney says 100 Mile needs more economic diversification to create the jobs to bring young families to the area and keep them.
She says we need to do more a lot more exploring on what other avenues are available here as far as business and industry.
Pinkney says 100 Mile is staying the same and going backwards in the number of retail stores and other things that used to be here, while other communities are moving ahead even in tough economic times.
She says we need to see what’s out there and capture it and that’s not really being done right now.
Pinkney mentions a pellet plant, a dog food production facility, or ship building contracts as possibilities for new industries.
In response, current 100 Mile Mayor Mitch Campsall says:
Campsall says they are searching for opportunities in those areas already. He says they are trying to attract young people to the community, but the bad economy is a tough reality. He says they’re looking in to anything and everything.
To that end, Campsall says there are some possibilities, but with the economy in its current state, many industries like Pellet Plants or Bio-Energy, aren’t viable.
Campsall says the focus is on trying to maintain the jobs and industries that we have. He says that while Quesnel and Williams Lake have lost Saw Mills, 100 Mile hasn’t.
He says despite the economic dive over the last number of years, we’re still going well – he looks at a tax increase of 0% this year as an example.
Campsall says economic development is actually the mandate of the Chamber of Commerce, but he’s says Council would certainly be willing to partner with them given a good working strategy.
No comments:
Post a Comment