All factors considered, “2024 was a pretty good year for St. Thomas.”That was the assessment of Sean Dyke at the city council meeting this past Monday (June 9).
As CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corp., Dyke is a front-line worker when it comes to the city’s overall fiscal health.
He presented an economic scorecard to council members on Monday, highlighting the EDC’s relatively new vision statement.
“It is to cultivate a community that people fall in love with, where businesses thrive and prosperity blooms.
“It sounds flowery on purpose,” conceded Dylke. “We’re trying to suggest that we’re doing a lot of work behind the scenes to really help people enjoy being here in St. Thomas, whether it’s from a business or residential perspective. Tourism, of course, also.”
Under the EDC umbrella is the Small Business Enterprise Centre.
“And this last year has been pretty busy,” advised Dyke. “Our team, which is really only two people, had almost 3,300 total inquiries working with businesses across St. Thomas and Elgin County.
“This is one piece that we do work with the county on regularly. We’ve exceeded all of our targets. We had over 60 new businesses started and just under 40 expanded, 139 new jobs, which is fantastic.
“And then, of course, we also get grants from the provincial government, which we can hand out in the community to deserving businesses to help them grow and expand.
“In Starter Company Plus, which is a program aimed at existing and new businesses, we received $100,000 and gave out $100,000 in provincial grants, which leveraged nearly $600,000 in investment.”
Also in the EDC fold is the Horton Farmers Market, which the EDC took on a number of years ago.
Dyke noted, “We just had some major milestones over this past year. We had over a million dollars in total vendor sales, so that means that the vendors who are selling products at the Horton Farmers Market sold over a million dollars worth of local produce and goods.
“On the EDC and city side, it’s nice to see we had over 2,000 total vendor rentals, which is how we make revenue on it. And then we had over 100 vendors at the Horton Christmas Market alone, which saw over $100,000 in sales in that one day.”
It’s an exciting time in St. Thomas, but what about the economic outlook going forward for the city in this topsy-turvy world?
“Obviously, we’ve never seen over a billion dollars in (industrial) building permits in one year (which was the case in 2024). We are anticipating the PowerCo construction to start in the next few months, so it’s going to get pretty exciting and busy out there.
“And these numbers will sort of be proven over the next year or two as that project moves forward. So, really good growth for the city. I think people have felt that there’s certainly been a lot of construction around. But generally, construction is good. It means that in the future, things are going to happen and things are going to get better.”Last year, approximately $250 million in residential building permits were issued.
“In housing starts, 2024 was a good year. It was the second-best year we’ve ever had. We had 601 new housing starts in the community. I say second best because, in 2020, we actually had a pretty big year (628 starts).
“Again, with apartment buildings largely (in 2020). But last year, we saw Alma College Square start to expand even further with a new tower. Highlands, their permit was in, and that’s now up, and they’re taking tenants.“So pretty exciting to see that kind of growth in the city on the apartment side. It’s much needed. Definitely, the rental market needs to grow. We’ve seen home builders reinvesting in the community.
“But then of course, there’s a neat mix of housing happening across the community, whether it’s townhouses or single-family homes or multi-residential. So, really good to see the city diversifying a little bit on the residential side and not focusing solely on single-family homes.”
He added, “But it’s neat to see that we’ve had over 2,300 housing starts in the last five years.”
According to Dyke, on the industrial front:- Presstran has added nearly 170,000 square feet to the building at the corner of Burwell and Talbot streets.
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Element5 has its construction ongoing. They’re almost tripling in size.
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Maxill has a purple and white building going up on Silver Street.
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Vicano continues to grow right across Dennis Road with a variety of different uses in that facility. And the newest unit is almost completed.
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Amino North America Corporation has basically completed its expansion and will be having a bit of a celebration later in the summer.
Dyke points out, “The majority of it is reinvestment by companies that have shown that they care about St. Thomas and they value the work that’s done here and the employees that are here.”
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
For municipalities in particular, naming administrative buildings and recreational facilities like community centres and parks and erecting statues and monuments can be fraught with danger.
Look no further than any city – or school board for that matter – that has named something after Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald or British politician Henry Dundas.
That is why the city’s Parks and Recreation Department has crafted a naming policy “intended to provide fair, consistent criteria for naming, renaming or dedicating park and recreation assets such as parks, and associated facilities and assets. It also includes the process of receiving public applications.”
The naming policy report was authored by Director Jeff Bray and presented to council at the June 9 meeting.His report lists the main objectives of the naming policy:
Continue the current traditional practice of naming municipal parkland, buildings, and park elements after significant geographical, neighbourhood, and historical elements and individuals.
Recognize, on an exception basis, significant contributions that organizations and individuals have made to the public life and the well-being of St. Thomas residents.
Provide direction on how to apply for approval to name, re-name, or dedicate major external municipal parklands, buildings, or park assets.
Give the public direction on how to apply for approval to name, re-name or dedicate assets identified within this Policy.
Provides a Sunset Clause that gives council the discretion to rename park/recreation amenities and remove any association with the current name.
The Policy is not intended to address:
Individual memorial dedications, such as commemorative benches, trees or plaques.
The naming or renaming of municipal roadways. Note: This is addressed through the city’s current Street Naming Policy.
The naming of city-owned facilities leased to commercial tenants.
The naming of core facilities, i.e., city hall, fire halls, police stations, and public libraries.
The Sunset Claus is of particular interest because there was no such policy when Timken Canada purchased the naming rights to the city’s twin-pad arena when it opened, and then more recently, the decision was made to rename it the Joe Thornton Community Centre.
The city’s Street Naming Policy brings to mind the classic quote from American journalist Bill Vaughan:
“Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.”
MONUMENT TO HOPE AND GUIDANCE
At the end of May, we wrote about a Lives Lost of People Experiencing Homelessness Monument to be erected at 230 Talbot Street later this summer.
An updated report is before city council at Monday’s (June 16) meeting, and, unfortunately, the rough rendering of the monument surely does not do it justice.
The city’s social services department has been working with a local artist “on creating a public art lighthouse that would provide a unique and sentimental piece for the public to visit and enjoy when remembering vulnerable lives that have been lost in the community.”
The monument will be of steel and glass construction, mounted on a concrete base and will be just over 10 feet tall and five feet wide. This can be modified depending on the final location.It is being fabricated by Bob Keeler and will be included in the city’s public art inventory.
The top of the structure will be lit, using energy from a solar panel.
According to a previous report to council from Danielle Neilson, Housing Stability Services Manager, the monument design will include “a lighthouse which represents hope and guidance, and historical railway culture which represents nostalgia, heritage and growth, and include a feature which allows visitors to leave notes and messages to lost loved ones.
“This unique feature was requested and strongly endorsed by people with lived and living experience as a meaningful and ongoing way to express grief and remembrance.”
No indication of the cost of the structure or who is paying for it.
Related post:
FORGOTTEN INDIVIDUALS
Carrie Smith and her son, Garrett, have long been outspoken on issues impacting housing and accessibility in St. Thomas.
On numerous occasions, they have provided feedback on items that have appeared in this corner.
At the end of last month, Carrie forwarded an extended letter with these relevant observations.
“Hi there Ian, just a couple of things falling on deaf ears at the local mayoral level as well as at the MPP level here in town.
“For the past five-plus years, I have advocated for accessibility and group homes in town. With the giant building boom Mayor Joe Preston has going on and the race to the finish for housing for those on every level, there is an entire group of individuals who are forgotten.
“The mayor is focused on drug users and homeless people as well as affordable housing, which are certainly in need with the immigration and expansion of the city.“No one seems to be concerned at all about all of the special needs adults living below the poverty line and being in situations where, if they are not able to remain at home or wish to be independent in a group home setting, they face a 12-year wait for a group home.
“The group homes in town are not all wheelchair accessible, and a great number are in heritage buildings with stairs. They also deserve the same opportunities as able people.
“I have reached out to the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility, the Minister of Health, and our local MPP, and the response is always the same. A standard form letter which implies that they care, identifies there is a concern and will continue to advocate, but absolutely no interest, care, action or plan to find a solution to this issue.
” More and more children are born differently abled every day. Parents try and provide the best life they can for their kids while juggling jobs or quitting work so one parent can remain home to care for their child.
“If Joe is the Mayor of St.Thomas, he should be reachable and accessible to all who have concerns, not just the ones who post photographs on social media and in the paper.”
“Over a lifetime, this wears on the parent(s) until a time comes when they also get caregiver burnout and are physically not able to do it anymore.
“The process then is that if not on a crisis waitlist, they would be deployed into a nursing home, perhaps in their 20s or 30s.
“Does this sound like a wonderful, fulfilling life to look forward to as a young person?
“If the mayor is running this city and is concerned with all residents, then ALL citizens should be prioritized. Not just the ones who are in the media now, but everyone.
“I have found with my experience of being involved with accessibility, that it is truly not a priority in town. It took three years to get wheelchair parking in front of the library on the street, and at that, it was placed back from the ramp, so disabled individuals had to travel farther, but at least it was designated.
“I have requested to meet with the mayor on issues like that, and my request was forwarded to someone else and brushed off by him.
“If Joe is the Mayor of St.Thomas, he should be reachable and accessible to all who have concerns, not just the ones who post photographs on social media and in the paper.
“It doesn’t take much to walk down both sides of Talbot Street to see all the businesses that still have a step or steps to access the business. This leaves physically challenged residents left out.
“Surely in 2025, we can do better.
“I would be so happy to meet with the local representatives to partake in trying to solve these issues. Yes, I know there is a municipal accessible advisory committee that my son was a member of years ago.
“The Government has so much funding and grant money available, and if it is not for this specific cause, it would be great if the local representatives could step up and request it on behalf of the city.
“They could empathize and put themselves in another person’s position and truly see the barriers and hardships they also face. After all, employment should be for all, housing for all and inclusion for all, don’t you think?”
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