A motion brought forward by Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney during council’s May 12 meeting could lead to the return of a BIA in Meaford, and that could be a good thing for the municipality, the downtown area, and the many businesses that operate there.
BIAs are established by municipal councils under the authority of sections 204 to 215 of the Municipal Act. Meaford’s former BIA was established in 1978, and operated continuously until 2022.
The mandate of a BIA is to “to oversee the improvement, beautification and maintenance of municipally-owned land, buildings and structures in the area beyond that provided at the expense of the municipality generally; and to promote the area as a business or shopping area.”
Meaford’s BIA was dissolved in a unanimous vote by council in late 2022, in favour of moving to a ‘Main Streets’ model, which has since been deemed ineffective and discontinued.
“Whereas, the Municipality of Meaford had a functioning Business Improvement Association (BIA) until its dissolution through By-law 2022-80;” read the opening of the Deputy Mayor’s motion. “Whereas, the former BIA was replaced by Mainstreets Meaford which has been unsuccessful in generating the community revitalization and improvement in the downtown area as anticipated; Whereas, BIAs traditionally draw businesses to work together for the betterment of the downtown core; Whereas, there has been a request from some businesses to recreate a BIA for Meaford; and Whereas, a BIA would contribute to additional beautification and continued vibrancy in our downtown.”
Keaveney’s motion, which found the support of council, directs staff to provide a report that “would identify levy impacts for businesses in the former BIA area, stakeholder engagement with businesses and property owners in the former BIA area, the potential of expanding the BIA district and any municipal resources that would be required.”
CAO Shawn Everitt told council that a report will be prepared for and presented to council, likely three months from now, and he advised that re-establishing a dissolved BIA will be a major undertaking.
Since the dissolution of the BIA just a few years ago, there has been a clear disconnect between downtown businesses and council and the municipal administration, and a lack of direction, not to mention a lack of clarity regarding who should organize and as importantly, who should pay for downtown events, improvements and beautification. So if council votes to revive the BIA, I suspect that decision will be applauded by many.
In the absence of the BIA, business owners have been busy attempting to bring life to the downtown core, creating events like Summerfest, and initiatives like the painted bicycles with flower baskets that we saw on the downtown sidewalks last year. Organizers of some of those initiatives have come to council after the fact seeking funds to replace what they have spent on those initiatives, and that is not how things are supposed to work.
If we are to see a return of a BIA in Meaford, there will of course be significant input by the downtown business community, as it should be up to the business owners to determine whether they want a BIA and are willing to pay for it, and if they have enough business owners interested in dedicating the time and energy required to serve on a BIA board.
In her motion, the Deputy Mayor asked that, in their report staff “identify levy impacts for businesses in the former BIA area, stakeholder engagement with businesses and property owners in the former BIA area, the potential of expanding the BIA district and any municipal resources that would be required.”
As I have noted in the 3Rs…Rants, Raves & Rumours column in this week’s print newspaper, some downtown business owners have recently expressed frustration on social media with the state of the downtown area of late, and the seeming lack of attention it receives from the municipality. They have been rallying the troops to pick weeds from the sidewalks, and to sweep away the sand left from the winter months, and to basically spruce up the place. The business owners care about the state of the downtown area as it can directly impact their sales.
A dull, uninviting downtown can hurt their businesses, while a vibrant, well-maintained downtown area can certainly help their businesses. The return of a BIA could be good for those businesses, along with the greater community, and it can also help to draw the almighty tourist dollars. With an active BIA, for example, we might not have seen our downtown still adorned with Christmas wreaths in the first week of May, as a BIA would no doubt have pushed for the holiday decorations to be removed much earlier, certainly before the arrival of Easter.
A BIA encourages the business owners within the district to work together for the betterment of the area, and that is good for everyone, from shoppers to business owners.
The reintroduction of a BIA comes at a cost of course, and that cost will be to businesses within the BIA district who pay an additional levy which supports BIA initiatives. It also has the cost of time, as a BIA requires a board with members who meet regularly, and in today’s busy world, that alone can be a challenge.
Keaveney noted during council’s May 12 meeting that an informal survey of downtown business owners suggests that there is support for a return of the BIA, and if the support is there, I can’t see why the council would not support bringing back the BIA.
I am certainly looking forward to the report that will be prepared by staff, and the discussions that will follow both in the council chamber and by the business owners themselves.
Our downtown business area has been rudderless for nearly three years, and it would be nice to see the return of some direction and order that would help to chart a unified path forward for our downtown area.
