The next 100 days

Job creation will be city council’s top priority during its second 100 days in office, Mayor Vic Fedeli says, and one of the best ways to do that is converting the underground complex in North Bay into a data storage facility.

Conversion of the facility will make the “best use” of the hundreds of millions of dollars of data networking infrastructure that already exists there, Fedeli said.

“The largest data pipe that Bell Canada owns in Ontario goes directly into the underground complex, and our intention is to lure a data storage company to North Bay to use the facility as the world’s most secure data storage site,” Fedeli said.

Government mandates
Data storage demand is not only caused by the “seemingly insatiable appetite of organizations for information,” Fedeli said, but also by government mandates.

“In a post 9-11 world, organizations are expected to store data in greater quantities, and to be able to retrieve it faster than ever before, and the new U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley law also has an impact on how companies store data,” Fedeli said.

“The UGC is the perfect solution, and we hope to capitalize on that. Our immediate goal is to create a world-class presentation package and look to gear up the marketing by September.”

Aggresive marketing campaign
Maximizing Jack Garland Airport’s potential will also be on council’s radar screen during the second hundred days.

The airport, Fedeli said, has attracted a number of aerospace-related companies, but has no fully-serviced land available.

“We intend to apply to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and FedNor to assist the city in servicing at least 30 acres of airport land to accommodate additional aerospace companies,” Fedeli said.

An aggressive marketing campaign would follow, designed to lure at least one additional company to North Bay per year.

Right thing to do
City council also has a ‘No Free Ride’ SWOT Team in place, which has put together a report that will be given to staff, Fedeli said.

“This will provide an opportunity for their report to be worked into our own corporate policies, and presented to council for discussion,” Fedeli said,

“The concept is to eliminate the acceptance of all free perks, including tickets, passes, wristbands, or gifts of any kind to elected municipal officials and all City staff. I believe it’s the right thing to do, and this will formalize the policy.”

Help from the community
Fedeli said the Communities in Bloom committee has scheduled a news conference for Thursday, April 22, to announce its new chairperson and its planned activities for this summer’s competition.

“This year, the city will take the lead role in the Communities in Bloom program and I will again act as honourary chairman,” Fedeli said.

“We look forward to as much help from the community as possible – especially picking up garbage on Wednesday nights!”

Plan for activities
In related matters Fedeli said the youth SWOT Team has presented its report to city council.

“They had a number of recommendations, and some meetings have now been planned to put together an annual youth conference as well as a series of kids’ forums,” Fedeli said.

“This will be an ongoing effort, as council looks to hear what the kids and youth of North Bay have to say, so we can plan for activities they require.”

Outstanding concept
One of the other things council will be watching with interest in the next part of its term, Fedeli said, is the progress of Community Waterfront Friends, which unveiled its new vision for the waterfront last week.

Fedeli calls it an “outstanding” concept for the former rail land property.

While the city won’t see any direct revenue from it, Fedeli said, “we will realize increased tax assessment through growth on Oak Street and a revitalized Main Street. “

Dalron Construction will soon begin building its $20 million seniors’ complex adjacent to the rail lands, Fedeli said, “and that means a lot of construction jobs will be created for the next couple of years, and over 100 permanent jobs will be created to operate their facility.”

One helluva great ride
Council has also approved the Downtown Community Improvement Plan, which offers financial assistance for businesses expanding or improving their existing downtown operations.

“We expect several announcements will be made over the next couple of months about various new downtown business ventures,” Fedeli said.

“It should be an exciting few months ahead, and as we’ve said before – hang on for one helluva great ride!”