The Thompson Chamber of Commerce spent its lunchtime meeting Nov. 10 discussing its potential advocacy priorities for the new term of mayor and council, but there was one noticeable absence.
"I understand this is all important, but do we have any business issues?" asked Chamber president Keith MacDonald meekly after 20 minutes of a discussion focused predominantly on safety issues in downtown Thompson.
Though the discussion did at times turn to business-specific issues, with a business improvement zone (BIZ) and housing initiatives being talked about, the bulk of the time was spent specifically on Prairie Bylaw, other methods of law and bylaw enforcement, and the downtown ambassadors program.
"Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we need to build on what's already working," said Dawn Sands, newly-installed executive director of the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (TNRC), suggesting that the Chamber advocate for more funding for the downtown ambassadors program, enabling it to run year-round.
"Over and over, we keep hearing something needs to be done about this downtown issue," she said. "I think growing this program locally, using the downtown ambassadors year-round, that's one of the ways we start addressing some of these issues - especially with the loss of Prairie Bylaw - they would really start to fill a gap that we've all noticed. What we'd like to see is a program very similar to the one already running in downtown Winnipeg.
What's already running in downtown Winnipeg is the BIZ, an association of businesspeople who have joined forces to promote downtown Winnipeg as a location for business, and to work together to keep the area attractive to anybody who comes through. The first BIZ in Winnipeg was launched in the downtown in 1989, and there are now 16 strewn about the city.
Lynn Taylor, general manager of the Thompson Citizen and former city manager, said that the city had looked at the BIZ concept in the past, including bringing up representatives from Winnipeg for presentations. "We did extensive research about it and everything, but frankly there was no funding available at the time to be able to put into place the infrastructure that we needed to do that," she explained. "That's why the TNRC was originally brought on board to start it out, and the hopes were that it would grow."
"I think it's very important that you display your downtown, and if it's not as pristine as you think it should be, that's your focal point," said MacDonald. "Something has to be done."
On the issue of the downtown, MacDonald noted that moving the liquor store or closing the Thompson Inn might work in the very short term, but expressed disbelief that either would be an effective long-term solution. "I think it's more than just maybe community ambassadors will work, maybe the police will work, this and that," he said. "We need to get together as a group and discuss how we're going to tackle it. Prairie Bylaw made an effect, but Prairie Bylaw also couldn't do a lot of the things they wanted to do."
It was also suggested at the meeting that local landlords - some of whom are regular attendees of the Chamber's lunch meetings - should be more involved with city housing initiatives. "The Thompson Housing Authority will be tasked to deal with creating a housing plan for the city," explained Sands. "Right now we have our key stakeholders - anybody who's currently involved in providing housing in the community - but we're also looking at opening up spots for community members. I think there is a place for business in there as well."
These discussions stemmed from a speech to the Chamber by Mayor Tim Johnston the previous week, during which he outlined his vision for Thompson over the next four years. "If you paid attention and listened to what he's trying to do in the next four years, he's really ambitious," noted Dave Moore of CHTM. "The stuff he talked about if fantastic if everything works. How do we keep his feet to the fire and make sure half the stuff he's trying to do gets accomplished?"
After a suggestion that perhaps the Chamber should look over the mayor's list of priorities and find specific parts they want to ensure are executed, MacDonald felt the need to interject. "It's really nice that Tim came here and laid out his action plan, but I think it should be the Chamber discussing their own action plan and what Tim should be doing, not what Tim's going to do," he said.
