Bruce County is going to consider approving a new department this week to help streamline some of the larger projects in the area.
CAO Derrick Thomson says the proposed Community Development Office would help address the number of large scale complex projects emerging in the county, which require a coordinated and strategic approach.
There are currently four major projects the proposed office would tackle, the housing supply in Bruce County, the growth of clean energy and medical isotope sectors, the proposed deep geological repository in South Bruce, and the new nuclear reactor at Bruce Power.
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“What this office is proposed to do, is have a strategic impact on those four key areas where we have a focused approach to helping work with our partners and developers,” says Thomson. “It is a way to coordinate and serve better for some of these large projects that we have coming through the county.”
Thomson adds while this new office could create new jobs, they will aim to fill it through existing staff.
He says should council approve the Community Development Office, within the next few weeks they will look at appointing a senior level staff person to start to run the office.
“We will create a work plan to move things forward. From that we will reach out to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) and Bruce Power, and also we have got a number of key players in the housing sector that we will reach out to and start those initial meetings and reach out to how we serve them better and how we can provide them information in a timely way and help them navigate through the different application and approval process here at the county,” says Thomson.
He says while the county is able to provide a great level of service, the office was needed to help tackle the larger projects as they require more effort, and the office will not be limited to these four projects.
“We want to make sure that we are providing the best level of service to those partners,” says Thomson. “This is just the beginning for this particular office.”
Council will consider this item during its meeting on Sept. 7 at 9:30 a.m.
