A group of downtown business owners seeks to create an advocacy group with the assistance of the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A group of downtown business owners is moving to formalize an advocacy and promotion group with the aid of the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce, one of a number of areas where chamber officials feel it can provide structure for niche groups with common interests.
That includes a planned business townhall meeting in Redcliff next week.
On Wednesday morning, an initial meeting was held to establish an official committee of downtown Medicine Hat stakeholders, known as the Downtown Collective, within the chamber structure.
Those discussions involved nominations, while next meeting, early next month, will create a priorities list.
“It’s baby steps right now, very much a formative stage,” said Darin McKay, a manager with Labels – Boys on Third clothing shop and an organizer of the group.
“The goal is to bring as many downtown business owners together as possible. We want to be as inclusive as possible and transparent as possible.”
McKay is one of a loose-knit group of business owners who banded together to keep the annual “Midnight Madness” Christmas shopping event going in 2021, after former event organizer, the City Centre Development Agency, wound down operations following a dissolution vote by members.
What started as a group chat on social media however, required more sophisticated organization, a funding formula for advertising and other logistics which led the “Collective” to the chamber, where many partners were members, said McKay.
All business owners, not just chamber members, are welcome to provide input and attend meetings, said McKay.
Now the discussion is expanding to rekindling other former CCDA-led events, and that could extend to taking concerns on perennial issues, such as parking, road and utility upgrades and public safety to City Hall.
The chamber, which advertises its ability to access and influence public officials as a benefit of membership, is interested in many common issues, said executive director Lisa Kowalchuk.
She told the News on Friday that issues tend to be common among business operators and entrepreneurs.
“We want to ensure that this is volunteer driven and stakeholder driven,” said Kowalchuk.
The group will also be seeking “block representatives” to handle communications in set areas and become a liaison between landlords, operators and the Downtown Collective.
Th work comes after the CCDA was disbanded in the summer of 2020, following years of acrimony about communication with members and varying amounts of discord about progress made with the city.
Members often complained about a levy that was required as the area was a designated business revitalization zone under provincial regulations, and openly wondered if a voluntary association would provide the same results.
On the other end, CCDA board members, who were volunteers, and a lone employee acting as executive director, often felt overburdened.
Kowalchuk said the new effort could succeed however, with chamber resources handling the structure and limited governance responsibilities of the group, but business owners need to be involved.
The move is one of several by chamber to help collate groups of business with “niche interests,” according to Kowalchuk.
The chamber recently represented land developers and related companies in urban development during discussions with the city planning department on changes to land development fees, known as offsite levies.
The chamber has works with the group of large industrial operations in Medicine Hat in dealing with the city. Discussions have also begun toward creating a working group of business operators in Redcliff to help with localized issues there.
