OSOYOOS TIMES-September 30, 2009
The Town of Osoyoos’s announcement last week that it will be handling economic development services in Osoyoos as of the new year is a smart one.
The change isn’t about whether Destination Osoyoos (DO) did a good or bad job in economic development; it’s about the Town listening to what people want.
It was obvious during the economic development summit held at the Osoyoos Golf and Country Club in April that many of Osoyoos’s business and community leaders wanted a change in direction.
Taking economic development services into its own hands shows the Town cared about this call for a fresh start and is willing to try something new.
The question, however, is will the Town be ready to take on the challenge.
While it has plenty of good, realistic ideas about how economic development should be administered in the future, it appears that the Town does not have a fully realized plan for how it intends to carry out these services.
Discussions with Mayor Stu Wells at the time the Town and DO announced the details of their new contract indicated that some aspects of how the Town will administer economic development services are still up in the air.
Wells mentioned that the Town is still considering certain ideas, while another workshop on economic development similar to the April summit may be in the cards.
With only three months until the Town takes over economic development responsibilities, one might feel more comfortable if a more concrete strategy was already in place, especially since a review of DO’s services began four months ago.
It’s all fine and good to continue work-shopping ideas or seeking input from the community about what it wants and needs.
If anything, that’s how the Town’s economic development model should run, with constant dialogue between the Town and the community.
But announcing a major change to how things work in Town should come with a plan that is a little more defined.
