Business and Tourism Development Quarterly Report

Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -1- Business and Tourism Development Quarterly Report Q2.09 The Business and Tourism Development (B&TD) Long Term Department Plan (LTDP) was adopted on February 25, 2008. Within the plan, (Section 2.5) four goals were established. 1. 2. 3. 4. We will have an increased number of new or expanded businesses in St. Albert We will have an increased number of residents working in St. Albert We will maximize economic spin-offs from community events and attractions We will provide excellent services A series of measures were established for each goal. This report provides a First Quarter 2009 review of the goals and progress being made on the various measurements. Some measures may only be available on an annual or even longer basis due to the source of information. Where information is available, quarterly progress is provided. B&TD will continue to review the measures established and develop better tracking tools to ensure consistent, reliable data is being collected. These will be updated and implemented over the life span of the Long Term Department Plan. Goal 1: We will have an increased number of new or expanded businesses in St. Albert Measure: number of business licenses – reported on a quarterly basis Total number of Business Licenses (YTD) January - June 2005 2006 Resident 1060 1063 Home-based 745 800 Non-Residential 609 649 TOTAL 2414 2512 2007 1145 827 689 2661 2008 1192 882 691 2765 2009 1246 928 739 2913 34 new commercial/industrial businesses opened in Q2-09. Each has been provided with a business license and a Welcome to St. Albert package. Some of these new businesses held grand openings with City officials in attendance. Measure: value of building permits (residential & non-residential) – reported on a quarterly basis January - June 2005 Residential - residential Non-Resident - commercial - industrial - institutional TOTAL $56.6M $4.4M $1.5M $21.6 $84.1M 2006 $78.6M $6.6M $6.1M $2.7M $94.1M 2007 $73.3M $15.8M $3.3M $19. 4M $111.7M 2008 $25. 6M $7.0M $1.5M $1.5M $35.6M 2009 $36.8M $1.1M $3.7M $9.0M $50.6M Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -2- TOTAL BUILDING PERMIT VALUES (%) January - June 2005 25.7 13.5 2006 2.8 2007 17.4 7 67.3 17.1 83.5 65.6 2008 4.2 23.9 9.5 2009 17.8 Residential Commercial/Industrial 71.9 72.7 Institutional Measure: Measure: number of net new businesses – annual (Q4 report) percentage of total assessment – annual (Q2 Report) 2005 88.94% 11.06% 2006 89.01% 10.99% 2007 89.32% 10.68% 2008 91.10% 8.9% 2009 89.95% 11.05% Residential Non residential Measure: percentage of total tax revenue – annual (Q2 Report) 2005 16.2% 83.8% 2006 7.52% 92.48% 2007 12.34% 87.66% 2008 6.05% 93.95% 2009 17.63% 82.37% Non-Residential Residential Measure: City of St. Albert Annual Assessment Statistics value of new non-residential assessment – annual (Q2 Report) Non-residential tax assessment increases to $1,027,655,920 in 2009, an increase of $135,871,240 over 2008 Non-residential assessment base (15.2% increase). Non-residential assessment now accounts for 11.05% of total assessment (Residential - 89.95%; Nonresidential - 11.05%). Growth as a result of new structures for Non-residential assessment in 2009 was $45,384,230 (5.09%) in comparison to 1.13% growth in structures for Residential. Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -3- Market Inflation for Non-residential assessment increased by 9.65% in 2009 in comparison to a decrease of 10.47% for Residential Market Inflation. Source: 2009 Taxable Property Assessment, City of St. Albert Assessment and Taxation Services Measure: annual non-residential taxes collected -annual (Q2 Report) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 $7,457,500 $8,018,200 $9,008,000 $9,552,759 $11,237,210 The results are a $1.7M increase in non-residential taxes over 2008, and an increase of $3.3M from the same period five years ago. Goal 2: We will have an increased number of residents working in St. Albert Measure: number of residents that work in St. Albert See Quarter 4 - 2008 Report. Goal 3: We will maximize economic spin-offs from community events and attractions Measure: Measure: number of tourism website hits quality of events as measured through event surveys (Community Survey) Community Events Chamber of Commerce Tradeshow 10 Mile Road Race Rodeo Children’s Fest # of Participants 8000 800 25,000 59,000 B&TD is focused on Tourism Development, and supports a number of events and attractions in the City. The goal is to build capacity within these organizations, not to undertake projects on their behalf. Goal 4: We will provide excellent services Measure: response time for requests B&TD staff strives to respond to all inquiries within one business day. Cross training of staff continues so that any staff who is on duty is well versed in order to respond to a variety of inquiries. percentage of customers who are satisfied or very satisfied with B&TD’s services, events and products. Measure: Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -4- Some noted comments on customer service levels from B&TD: General B&TD: “Now that is service! Thanks so much.” Business Licensing: “I can’t believe how quickly we managed to get the City launched; you’ve beaten the record and were an absolute pleasure to work with.” BizPal National Program Coordinator Marketing, Networking and Special Projects:  In this Quarter our Focus on Business Newsletter went electronic, with full distribution occurring in July. By becoming environmentally friendly and reducing the amount of paper being used for the production, we are reducing our carbon footprint. Focus on Business is now sent out via email to the Business Community and City Council. Community Calendar compiled monthly; 1900 copies are printed & distributed. Moving towards electronic version only in Q3-09. Participated in the Arts and Heritage trip to the Creative Kids Museum in Calgary. Sponsored a hole at the Almost Annual Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, featuring interactive participation by all registered golfers. Attended Economic Developers Association of Alberta Conference (Jasper). Attended National Business Incubator Association Conference (Kansas City). Urban Development Institute (UDI) Alberta Conference (Edmonton) focused on the development community’s reaction to the economy, limited available financing and Smart Growth concepts. Held joint meeting with Sturgeon County Economic Development Board and SAEDAC to discuss priorities for 2009 for each organization and explore opportunities for joint efforts on projects that would benefit the region. Meetings with Business Development Bank of Canada to update St. Albert activities and business growth. Participated in Chamber of Commerce Healthy Business Challenge Slo-pitch weekend. Branding: Roger Brooks Charrette Week took place June 8 -12 . This included Public meetings, Public Open Houses, a survey placed on the City of St. Albert website, and an email set up to collect resident feedback. B&TD assisted Destination Development Inc. (Roger Brooks) in promotion, schedules, and interviews and looked after organization of logistics for the Charette Week. Organized and launched 2009 Art Drive. Country Cuisine event organization. th              Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -5-  Cost shared a full page ad in Edmonton Commerce News with Gold Dust Casino and St. Albert Inn & Suites. The city’s portion of the ad featured the Cuisine Event at the Grain Elevator Park, and the St. Albert Botanic Park. Purchased a full page ad in VUE Weekly, Hot Summer Guide promoting the Country Cuisine event, the Art Walks, and Rock’n August. Also had a web banner on VUE Weekly. Downtown Beautification Grant Program: 217 packages were sent to Businesses in the DARP area. St. Albert Housing Society meeting. Attended Housing Forecast Seminar. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) meeting. NABI Anniversary Event. Participated in a workshop with builders, developers and realtors, and other city departments to explore how the group can work collaboratively to increase the amount of residential development in St. Albert. Met with EEDC, along with other economic development departments in the region, and began a discussion paper on regional business attraction. Work will continue on this project into the next quarter. B&TD staff continues to respond to Development Permit circulations, attend workshops on Smart Growth, and participate in public hearings on Area Structure Plan and Land Use text amendments. Continued attendance at other various regional events and meetings: Edmonton Regional Economic Board, Sturgeon County Business Breakfast: Transportation update, Resource Industry Development Association meeting, Edmonton Real Estate Forum and Breakfast, South Edmonton Business Association, Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Economic Update, Edmonton Capital Region Board Seminar, Alberta Industrial Heartland update, Edmonton Regional Tourism Group (ERTG) Annual General meeting, ERTG Annual Planning Retreat and Board Development, Chamber of Commerce luncheons and breakfast.           Other Information of Interest:  Conducted 6 Mayor Business Visits in Q2.09. Business Visited Contact BRIDS Installation and Delivery Service Bill and Yvonne Ruys, Cassandra McKendry Pawprints Gourmet Pet Bakery Jeannie and Michelle Hurren Pro Western Plastics Paul Lacroix, Dave Lacroix, Real Chamberland Gopher Trenching Ed Stogran Citadel Care Centre Blair Halliday AMA Travel Nicole Pollock    Provided New Resident’s packages to the Edmonton Garrison and City Departments (HR, Servus). Provided update tear off City maps to various City Departments as requested. Provided 2040 updated Visitor Guides to various Visitor Information Centers across Alberta. Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -6-  Provided 3400 Visitor Guides to various City departments and regional organizations (for example: Morinville Campground, St. Albert Farmer’s Market, Edmonton Garrison, St. Albert Inn, Special Olympics, Community and Protective Services and Affordable Housing). Shared a booth at Riel Grand Opening with Special Olympics, to assist the group in volunteer recruitment. Promoted special events and attractions in St. Albert at the Riel Recreation Park Grand Opening. Provided maps (tear-off and fold-out), sandwich boards and B&TD tent to Special Olympics. 2009 Business Directory up and running on the website, along with the excel download option of the Directory. Hosted a group of students from the University of Waterloo Economic Development Program for a one day Case Study assignment. The case study assigned was St. Albert’s Farmers Market Analysis and Recommendations. Joined the BizPal national website. BizPal enables entrepreneurs to register their businesses through a cross-governmental permit list. Potential St. Albert businesses can review on-line all the permits and licenses that will be required to start their operation in St. Albert. A formal launch of the service is planned for early fall 2009. More information available at www.stalbert.ca/bizpal. Kudos to several city departments who played a part in getting BizPal launched. Launched the new Tourism website. Laid groundwork for two Tourism specific videos, held in conjunction with the Business Attractions Video campaign. Received summary of New Business Interview Questionnaire which ran from March 2008 to March 2009 (see results below). Survey was conducted by volunteers on SAEDAC.          Survey Question #1: What would you consider your #1 reason for locating (your business) in St. Albert? 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Reasons for Locating in St. Albert Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -7- Survey Question #3: During the process of opening your business in St. Albert did you encounter any roadblocks or difficulties attaining permits, licenses etc.? Yes No Survey Question #4: Were any of the following factors a part of your decision to open a business in St. Albert? 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 No Yes *Complete results on all five questions are available upon request from B&TD As noted in previous Quarterly Reports, we continue to provide monthly support to SAEDAC and the sub-committees (list available on request). As noted in previous Quarterly Reports, we continue to participate in Internal Committees (list available on request). External Agencies and Committees Involvement:       Edmonton Regional Tourism Group (ERTG) Board Member ERTG Marketing Committee Greater Edmonton Economic Development Team (GEEDT) and Labour Attraction Committee NABI Board of Directors – Executive, Finance and Audit, Building and HR Committees, AGM St. Albert Chamber of Commerce – Membership, Lifestyle Expo Committee, Small Business Week Committee, Tradeshow Committee Alberta Economic Developers Spring Conference organizing committee, Marketing Awards and Training Committee Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -8-       Economic Developers of Canada Certification Committee and Scholarship Committee AlbertaFirst.com Board and Technology Committee Country Cuisine Chair Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Regional Marketing workshops Visit Edmonton’s Countryside (Co-Chair) Chamber of Commerce Downtown Committee Business Attraction Strategy Summary: In April 2009, St. Albert city Council received a Business Attraction Strategy and three (3) year action plan. Following extensive review of existing literature, workshops with local stakeholders and interviews with developers, realtors and business owners, a marketing plan was developed specifically to attract new business to St. Albert. During the second quarter of 2009, B&TD began the process to develop the required marketing materials. Local business leaders have been solicited for testimonials, and the design of a marketing campaign has been initiated. B&TD participated in each of the video testimonials, and staff were able to provide assistance and encouragement to the participating businesses as well as learning more about St. Albert’s special features. B&TD intends to launch the new campaign in the fall of 2009. The campaign will include videos, transit and billboard advertising, and extensive use of the web. Part of the Business Attraction Strategy also identified the need to support and assist the private sector developers who have invested millions of dollars in servicing non-residential lots in Campbell North and Riel South Business Parks. B&TD is working closely with these developers to assist in their marketing process. Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT -9- Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT - 10 - Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT - 11 - Q2 09 QUARTERLY REPORT BUSINESS AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT - 12 -