The outgoing director of community and economic development for Grey Highlands has urged council to continue to think strategically about how to grow and develop.
Michele Harris, who has been with Grey Highlands for the past six years, will be leaving the municipality to take the CAO’s position at neighbouring West Grey. At the council meeting on July 3, Harris spoke to council about the progress and work done in her department over the past six years.
“I could go on for hours,” she said. “It’s important that communities have a thriving economy.”
Harris urged council and the municipality to continue to think strategically about the future and where the municipality will be in the future.
“You can’t plan for tomorrow when you’re only thinking of today and you’re being reactive rather than proactive,” she said, advocating that economic development considerations should be “embedded” in every decision made at the council table.
She urged council to avoid being “anti-development” and to take steps to get serviced employment land in the community to ensure the community doesn’t continue to rely on residential development for all its growth.
Harris said being prepared and planning ahead are the keys to handling the growth the municipality is going to experience in the coming years.
Harris also said a key point for the future would be getting municipal infrastructure updated and modernized. She noted that aging infrastructure is an issue across the province.
“This is going to be a critical problem and economic development can help with that,” she said.
After her presentation, Mayor Paul McQueen thanked Harris for her work with the municipality.
“I know you eat and breathe economic development, along with tourism,” he said.
