Mayor Sharie Minions offed city council’s annual address at a special organizational meeting last night, highlighting many of the new industries coming to town as the economy diversifies.
She highlighted new industries coming to the area as the best barometer for an improving economy
“While we want to make sure that we are looking at the challenges and the ways to address them, I think it’s also important to celebrate the good that’s going on in our community, and we’ve got a lot of new industries starting to build roots here,” she said.
She said investment in aviation, tech, cannabis, and a seafood processing hub that includes a new seaweed cultivation business are signs of a diversifying economy.
Minions said while Port Alberni often lags behind other Vancouver Island cities, it gives local leaders the opportunity to learn.
“There are challenges in our community, and as a Council we want to make sure we highlight those challenges and we start moving forward on them,” she said. ” And the nice thing is that other communities on Vancouver Island have experienced these things and have come out stronger. We really want to make sure we’re looking at both the successes and failures of other communities and learning from them.”
Council will now begin working on their new 5-year financial plan, holding open meetings with city managers over the next three nights to drill down on departmental needs and costs.
