By Paul Everest - Osoyoos Times

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 10, 2009

The first of several planned meetings between the Town of Osoyoos and Destination Osoyoos (DO) to map out the future of economic development in the area took place on May 28.
The meetings coincide with the Town’s efforts to review its relationship with the economic development organization and they come in the wake of a gathering on April 24 where roughly 30 community members laid out what they see as economic development priorities for Osoyoos.
Mayor Stu Wells, all town councillors, Town staff members and representatives of DO were present at the May 28 meeting.
Derek Noske, chair of DO’s board of directors, said much of the focus of the meeting was on communication and “making sure both sides are on the same page” when it comes to economic development goals.
He added that many of the topics addressed at the April 24 meeting at the Osoyoos Golf and Country Club that was hosted by the Town, including emphasis on downtown revitalization, affordable housing, public transit, water quality and medical services, are already on DO’s radar.
“Most of the items that were discussed are pretty much those which we’ve reviewed and gone through in the normal course of setting our objectives in conjunction with the Town,” Noske said.
It will take time, he added, to fully define just what the community wants as economic development is a “complex, not-easily-defined concept.”
Noske used tourism as an example, saying that some people may want DO to focus on the tourism industry while others want the recruiting of new businesses into the community to be the priority.
He said DO now has to look at which areas of economic development need more focus and which areas it could “do a better job on.”
And the Town needs to decide what economic development goals are the “most critical or important” and then figure out whether or not to use DO to fulfill those goals or go “another way.”
The Town is now looking at drafting a new contract with DO as the current five-year agreement between the organizations expires on Dec. 31.
Although a date for the next meeting has not been set, a Town media release suggests it could happen within the next few weeks and several more meetings will take place throughout the summer.
Noske said he’s happy such discussions are taking place now as opposed to just before the Town’s contract with DO expires at the end of the year.
“You wait until the last period of time and then you’re rushing around, which is not good,” he said. “This way we’ll be very careful, there will be continued input from the community.
“I think it will be a much better process than has probably been done in other times.”
He also said the meetings have given DO an opportunity to “exchange views firsthand” with the Town’s three new councillors.
Two of those new councillors, Michael Ryan and C.J. Rhodes, serve as liaisons between DO and the Town.
As for what he’d like to see come out of the meetings, Noske said what matters most is maintaining a good working relationship with the Town.
“I don’t think we’re overly possessive and if there’s a better way to do something and it doesn’t fit in our bailiwick, I don’t have a problem with that and neither does our board,” he said. “Hopefully we would think that the time spent would be returned in improvements in everything we do and we’ve already agreed that communication is a part of that.
“Even if we end up exactly where we are now, it will still be better having gone through this process.”
No one from the Town was available for comment before press time as council and several Town staff members were attending the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Whistler.
The Town has contracted DO to carry out economic development and tourism marketing services since the late 1990s.
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