The numbers may have been small, but the ideas were anything but.
The final in a week-long series of public meetings to gather input on the economic development strategy being developed by the Town of St. Marys, City of Stratford and County of Perth was held Thursday evening at the Pyramid Centre. The round-table discussion drew only about 15 participants, but was among the best attended meetings in the series, with reports of as few as one and two people attending in Mitchell and Stratford.
But despite the disappointing turnout, town CAO Rob Brindley says a good range of ideas and suggestions as to how to build a sustainable economy in St. Marys and the region were brought forward and examined by the group. Brindley says the feedback stressed the importance of diversifying the local economy, while continuing to build on the town’s strengths.
One suggestion was for more municipal support for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Brindley says much like how people associate Stratford with the Shakespeare festival, the town could benefit from a similar affiliation with the ball hall.
“Some people felt the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame should be developed more and dollars put in to elevate it, because there is only one Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame,” he notes.
Not surprisingly, participants, who comprised of large business owners, downtown merchants, and representatives from tourism and the cultural sectors, voiced concerns about the deterioration of the downtown core. Brindley says the need for a healthy mix of residential and commercial in the core was discussed, as was the importance of building upon its arts and culture scene.
People also want to see the buildings filled. Brindley says the town can’t afford to focus all of its efforts on attracting large industries, and must do a better job in drawing in smaller companies, both in retail to attract visitors from larger markets, and creative industries such as high-tech companies and those that specialize in green technologies. 
Though much of the discussion looked at St. Marys, Brindley says talks did have a regional focus. Brindley notes while each community certainly has its own agenda, one community’s good fortunes, such as the forthcoming University of Waterloo digital media campus in Stratford, will have a positive impact on the entire region. Likewise, he says, one community’s troubles can be felt in each corner of the region as well. 
“An economy doesn’t look at municipal boundaries, so we need to work together on this,” adds Brindley.
The other piece in the collaborative effort between the two municipalities and county is a labour market analysis, which is looking at the skills base in each community and identifying opportunities to build and strengthen the work force.
“The key is to have a sustainable economy, develop plans and strategies around ensuring there are always jobs here in St. Marys,” says Brindley.
Officials from across the county have been meeting with business leaders and various industry representatives throughout the past two months to get their input on the plans. A draft strategic plan is expected next month, with a final draft ready in April.
Best of all, says Brindley, is that once complete, the plan won’t sit on a shelf; funding is already in place to begin laying the seeds for some of the plans’ recommendations.