Cornwall Ontario — Economic Development was on the City of Cornwall’s agenda when Council held their meeting Monday April 8th at City Hall. First, the Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce’s President Kevin Hargreaves addressed City Council about Civic Complex rental fees. The Chamber of Commerce hosts events which help promote Cornwall businesses and in turn help economic growth. Hargreaves requested a 30% reduction in the rental fees for the Chamber when renting out the Cornwall Civic Complex space. The Chamber is a non profit group, but they currently do not enjoy the same benefits as charity groups, and do not get a price break when renting out the Civic Complex. City Council is going to consider the Chamber of Commerce’s request.

Also on the agenda, Mark A. Boileau, the City’s Economic Development Manager, had a report on Cornwall’s progress for January and Feburary 2013. To summarize the report: Construction at the Olymel Plant on Industrial Park Road is well underway, with steel now being erected for the expansion. Atelka held their job fair days at the Civic Complex in early February, and they are employing 155 people at the former Teleperformance building at Pitt and Tollgate. Their official opening was on March 21. With respect to commercial development, both Freshco and Dollarama were recently issued building permits for the Goldmanco site (Ninth /Marlborough /McConnell) and should start construction in the coming weeks. The Cornwall Business Park Transportation Master Plan Environmental Assessment has passed the Study Completion Notice as of February 22, 2013.