North Battleford city council is pushing ahead with plans to revive the downtown core as a place for business.
A presentation outlining plans to set up a business improvement district in the core made up the bulk of discussion at Monday's council meeting.
Council later passed a resolution to give administration the green light to prepare a Business Improvement District bylaw for council's consideration, and also conduct the required public notice.
But while council was on board with the notion of a BID in the downtown, presenters made clear the idea would not be inexpensive.
Both Terry Scanlan, executive director of Saskatoon's downtown business improvement district, as well as Derek Schmidt, speaking for the North Battleford downtown BID steering committee, noted a levy would likely be needed in order for the BID to work.
An annual uniform levy is being proposed, which would be applied to the assessment of each property in the BID area.
Schmidt outlined a process where the City would kick in 100 per cent funding support for the start-up year of the BID. The levy would not kick in until the second year, with Schmidt proposing the first year be funded from reserves.
The second year would see a 60-40 allocation with the City making up 60 per cent while the levy on businesses would account for 40 per cent.
Schmidt also saw a third-year allocation where the City's portion would drop to 40 per cent while the levy would count for 60.
The revenue would go towards funding the BID with budgets estimated at $117,125 for 2013, $134,390 for 2014 and $136,818 for 2015.
The idea of imposing a levy, the presenters acknowledged, was a scary one to some businesses. However, both presenters outlined the benefits would outweigh the costs with increased business, more customers downtown, fewer vacancies and bolstered assessments and property values.
Scanlan noted four business improvement districts had been set up in Saskatoon, including in Riversdale as well as Broadway, revitalizing both those areas.
He described BIDs set up in cities across the country and noted they were successful. Only one city had voted out its BID - Victoria. And even in that case, voters reinstated it three years later, he said.
"Is it difficult? Sure it is. Anything that's worth doing is difficult," said Scanlan.
He suggested the benefits of a BID were likely to be seen right away in the area, possibly as soon as the very first year.
"If you don't notice a difference in three (years), you're doing something wrong," Scanlan said.
Schmidt also outlined the benefits that would ensue, describing improvements seen in Riversdale and also in Yorkton.
"Business improvement districts work and they work very well," said Schmidt.
In talking with Yorkton businesses, Schmidt noted one business owner had admitted he was "scared for his life" when the word "levy" came up. Today, Schmidt said, "in the BID area, there are no open doors. Every place in the Yorkton BID area is full. There are people wanting to get into the BID area, so they do work."
Schmidt said the BID would take "manpower, resources and money."
One reason money would be required is to hire a full-time executive director for the BID, who would report to a BID board consisting of between five and nine directors.
That person would be the voice and public image of the BID. Schmidt said having a full-time employee would set apart the current BID effort from the numerous previous efforts in the City that were tried but failed.
He noted the importance of someone whose "sole job is to get down, roll up their sleeves and get some work done, knock on doors, ruffle some feathers, hold people accountable."
Schmidt also outlined the rest of the plan and programming for the BID area.
That includes a dedicated "clean team" to maintain clean sidewalks, do cleaning and painting in the downtown. A visible presence of "street ambassadors" would enhance the experience for visitors and be the eyes on the streets to manage and deter unwanted activity. The program would advocate for Downtown live surveillance in partnership with RCMP and the City. The BID would put out posters, newsletters and ads about its programming. The program would also conduct a walkthrough of downtown by employees, owners and city planners to examine how the physical features such as lighting, trees and roadways can influence safety and security.
The BID committee also wanted to see the profile of downtown boosted through branding and marketing, by public relations campaigns and by raising the profile of events and festivals downtown to help attract people and new businesses downtown.
The BID would roughly cover an area that includes all 100th Street properties south of 14th Avenue and would extend east to include 102nd Street south of 13th Avenue.
He also stressed that in consultations with businesses downtown, they favored a BID and most understood that it would take money, but they also wanted to see results.
"They don't want to see a plan for five, ten years down the road," said Schmidt. "They want to see their money put to work - results - now."
As for the levy, Schmidt admitted that while the word "levy" frightens people, he said he looked at the numbers and "it's not that scary."
For his business, Schmidt noted a maximum levy without any City support would come to $500 a year.
"When you think of $500 a year, that's not very much. I could definitely lose that amount of money looking after the pigeon problem in an hour or two." Schmidt also added "it takes money to make money."
While there was much talk about a levy at Monday's meeting, some councillors expressed the desire for other options to be considered as well.
Councillor Ryan Bater, a vocal supporter of downtown revitalization, pushed the idea of funding the BID through reintroduction of parking meters downtown. He noted Riversdale's BID in Saskatoon got revenue through parking meters.
In any event, the various options are to be considered over the coming weeks and months. Administration has been directed to consider the range of options that might be available to fund the BID area.
The next step is for a business improvement district bylaw to be drafted and come back to council. That bylaw would be required to set the boundaries and limitations of the BID.
A separate bylaw would be needed to establish a levy or put in place other alternatives for funding the BID, but that is not expected until later.
