Canmore Business and Tourism’s contract to provide economic development expired at the end of 2014, but the organization will continue to provide the service until the end of April.
Canmore council voted unanimously to extend the terms of the contract for another four months in order for the two organizations to negotiate a new long-term contract.
Gary Buxton, general manager of municipal infrastructure, explained the last minute motion is connected to the fact CBT is reviewing the business registry and fee schedule.
“As council is aware, we are in review of the business registry bylaw and fee schedule and we delayed collection of the business registry fees in the first part of 2015 until the end of April,” Buxton said.
He added CBT was interested in a six-year contract term, but with the review of registry fees expected in the first part of 2015, administration recommended the extension instead.
Part of CBT’s contract for economic development services is to make it easier to do business in Canmore, through networking and education and innovation and diversity. Buxton said the organization is working on several sector development plans.
“To date, they have done a fair bit of research on the food and beverage sector and initiatives are underway on that,” he said.
