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A good story
A long, long dreary winter is at last beginning to recede from the County. Those of us left behind to tend the place in these darker months, prefer, I think, a short sharp burst of winter—snow for Christmas, breath-sucking cold in January. Acouple of times sliding down Macaulay Mountain earning a face full of snow, a few figure eights and a couple of long breakaways on West Lake, perhaps a fish or two dragged out through a hole in the ice. That’s it. That’s all we need, and we are ready for spring. But when the snow, sleet and freezing rain drag well into March, most have had their fill.
We are ready for spring. The good news is that winter is over this week. You can almost hear the County exhale. Coats are being shed. Mittens put away. Plans for the garden are in full swing.
Winter in the County is particularly hard on businesses. Each winter we lose a handful of companies—businesses that, for a variety of reasons, couldn’t make it to the other side of our dark winter. Particularly hard hit this year is the construction industry and trades that support them. With the completion of major projects such as the sewage plant in Picton and the community centre in Wellington, we are beginning to see just how many construction jobs were tied directly or indirectly to these one-off projects.
New home construction has cratered in the County, a fact that became acutely evident to many of the trades and service people this past winter. A general wariness on the part of home buyers is part of it, as is the dizzying array of barriers the municipality has erected to dissuade residential development. Certainly the more serious factor, however, is that the County has simply priced itself out of the market—imposing development and connection charges on building lots more than double that of our neighbours in Quinte West, Belleville and Napanee.
The County was slow to impose such charges, dithering for more than a decade. Now those managing municipal coffers are, understandably, reluctant to let them slip out of their hands. Yet a compromise must, and will, be found. The County’s development charges have effectively put a closed sign on the door for new housing—this must change soon. Investment capital typically goes where there is the greatest potential return. If builders don’t build homes it doesn’t matter how high the charges are—zero times any number is still zero. This means lost jobs. It also means lost fees, lost tax base and lost opportunity.
Long winters tend to cast a pall upon the landscape.
Yet not all is bleak. There is resilience in the County. Businesses have enjoyed boom and bust on a regular cycle for much of its history. Folks manage to muddle through the dark periods and emerge stronger, wiser and more humble on the other side.
The County has also done a good job of attracting creative people to come and live here—bringing with them fresh ideas, dreams and aspirations. They see what can be. The possibilities are clear. They put their money into the ground here in anticipation that it will help earn them a living, perhaps employ others and fill a need in the local economy.
They have made this a richer community—more diverse, more vibrant and more dynamic.
Unlike any other community in eastern Ontario, and one suspects even further afield, new investment seeks out Prince Edward County. Why? Because of a story. A story of natural beauty, of history and human ingenuity. It is a story about the earth and the riches it can yield when treated with respect and imagination.
It is a story told by the County’s economic development folks for the past decade. A story told so well—hundreds of millions of dollars have come here in search of the happy ending it promises.
A decade and a half ago a few grapes grew along the fence lines in the County. Since then, more than 30 wineries have emerged form the soil in Prince Edward County, creating an entire new category of Ontario wines—an industry that yields the better part of $50 million in sales per year. It is a strong and growing sector that didn’t exist 15 years ago. A story made this happen.
It was a story that captured the imagination of entrepreneurs who saw in Prince Edward County a place they could live and prosper. Then others heard the story and they followed, bringing their dreams, their ideas and their capital. Cheesemakers. Barrel makers. Specialty manufacturers. Artists. Performers. Artisans.
Prince Edward County has done an exceptional job of developing the local economy—understanding what would work and what wouldn’t and then reaching out in a targeted way to those who could would act upon this vision. It is a success story envied, and in many cases now emulated, by rural communities across this country.
It is a story to be celebrated. Now, more than ever.
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