Wednesday September 2, 2020 | COLWOOD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, editor | Island Social Trends
The City of Colwood has been actively exploring the many aspects of economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on its residents and small businesses.
Since the pandemic was declared in March, the municipality has been discussing the many factors of and pathways to economic recovery for their community in the west shore area of South Vancouver Island.
“We’re really trying to figure out how to protect small businesses to keep them in our community. We don’t want to become a ghost town, like we’re seeing in parts of Victoria,” Colwood Mayor Rob Martin told Island Social Trends today.
“We can’t afford that,” he said protectively of his community. But feels confident in riding out the storm: “From a west shore standpoint, we’re quite vibrant that way,” said Martin.
Not operating in silos:
So that any possible supports from provincial and federal levels of government were not to be missed, since March Mayor Martin has been meeting weekly with local MLA Mitzi Dean (Esquimalt-Metchosin) and MP Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke) in whose constituency areas Colwood falls. That included the May 29 economic recovery online roundtable where there was discussion for the public and local businesses to participate in.
“Randall’s keeping me informed of what parliament is doing and how Colwood might affected. Same with Mitzi provincially. We created those synergies to what’s best for Colwood and residents,” Mayor Martin said today.
“It’s been incredibly beneficial to me and them as well, providing ideas of where they could look at approaching things,” said Martin, who has been Colwood Mayor since October 2018. He gives the example of Garrison saying he could look into federal infrastructure grant opportunities that might apply for Colwood as roads are developed within the municipality.
“This helps so that we’re not working in our silos but working collaboratively together to identify the issues and find the funding,” said Martin.
Gathering intel:
The City of Colwood surveyed the public in April during that full month of socioeconomic lockdown. In May a series of economic roundtables was launched.
Rolling out the economic recovery plan:
Following their series of Recovery Roundables involving local business owners, stakeholders and provincial and federal leaders, Colwood Council is moving forward with an Economic Recovery Plan that focuses on increasing household prosperity for everyone in Colwood and supporting local businesses to thrive.
Prosperity and principles for recovery:
Household prosperity takes a holistic approach to economic recovery by considering people’s well being and quality of life as well as their income.
“When families are healthy and prosperous, businesses have greater opportunity to thrive and the community is stronger as a whole,” says Colwood’s mayor.
Recovery principles are stated as: accountability, community-led, collaborative and inclusive, and being leadership based, as well as build back better, fairness and transparency, paying attention to reconciliation, pro-vulnerable recovery, and also flexibility and scalability.
Directions for recovery:
With this in mind, Colwood’s Draft Economic Recovery Plan goes beyond the usual tactics. As posted by Colwood on July 8:
- Business Supports: The City will be launching a buy local campaign, allowing food and retail sales in boulevards and parking areas, offering sign boards to help businesses promote their services, relaxing tax due dates and partnering with Royal Roads University on economic strategies for Colwood.
- Well Being: The City will also take steps to support mental health by promoting local social services, exploring options for additional youth programs in Colwood, considering grants for career development programs and creating a Parks & Recreation Master Plan.
- Food Security: We’ll enhance local food security by working with local food banks and the Colwood Garden Society to support local gardening and increase our community’s capacity to provide food where it’s needed.
- Neighbourhoods: In addition to easing property tax due dates for residents and businesses, the City is planning a neighbourhood placemaking contest to provide seed funding for improvements, will provide discount vouchers for Colwood junk removal companies in place of the Spring Clean Up and move forward with transportation and infrastructure projects that will improve how we move in and around Colwood.
- Partnerships: Mayor Martin will be meeting with Esquimalt, Scia’new and Songhees Nations to invite them to join the City in exploring ways to support each other’s economic recovery and we’ll continue to strengthen partnerships and collaboration with the West Shore Chamber of Commerce and the South Island Prosperity Project.
===== LINKS:
Colwood’s Economic Recovery Plan 2020 (June 2020, PDF)