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Socio-Economic
Montage
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Revelstoke Community
Economic Development Strategy
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Authored by: Westcoast
Development Group
Commissioned by:
Revelstoke Economic Development Commission
June 1995
Location of Publication:
"Columbia Basin Trust Collection"
Revelstoke Economic Development Commission
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The Revelstoke Community Economic
Development Strategy, which will guide Revelstoke's economic development
over the next 5-10 years, is built upon the community's vision and
the organizational capacity of economic development organizations
within Revelstoke. Its development involved personal interviews
with 45 individuals, 14 group sessions (a total of 160 people in
attendance) and a review of relevant background documents. The strategy
includes the following initiatives:
Transportation
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The Airport:
Determine the cost and economic
return of re-aligning the runway and installing navigational
equipment.
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The Proposed
Four Laning of the Trans Canada Highway:
Design entrance points to Revelstoke; assist local road construction
firms to obtain successful bids for the project; and, establish
plans to minimize the social impact of the construction crews
on the community.
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CPR:
Maintain and enhance the presence of the CPR and its employees
in Revelstoke. |
Forestry
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Tenure:
Obtain more tenure; create a mechanism
that either keeps more wood in the region for value-added
processing and/or provides the financing to establish value-added
manufacturers; and, assist the Ministry of Forests to pilot
very small scale renewable tenure allocations for value-added
processors.
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Management
and Planning: Carry out a leakage
study to establish the magnitude and system of external contracting
for planning and management expertise, followed by a local
enhancement strategy.
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Harvesting:
Research environmentally-sensitive, financially-viable harvesting
options for the Interior wet belt; training in environmentally
sensitive harvesting; and, establish a venture to market the
information and expertise related to establishing and operating
a community forestry corporation.
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Silviculture:
Carry out a leakage study to discover
how much silviculture contracting is going to contractors
outside the region, and to learn if and how local firms could
provide these services; and, research the skill mix possibilities
for full time integrated forestry workers.
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Secondary
and Specialty Processing: Carry
out an analysis and planning for old growth wood for specialty
manufacturing in the region; access significant funding for
debt financing, for value-added or specialty processing; and,
continue contact with local artisans to explore viable products.
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Model Forest
Concept: Prepare a background paper
that explores possibilities for research and integrated resource
use. |
Other Natural
Resources
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Mining:
Review the mining opportunities and plans in the region; and,
create a mitigation plan to minimize the impacts of the expected
closure of the mine. |
Tourism and Hospitality
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Overall
Strategy: Establish a mandate for
tourism planning and development; prepare a tourism development
strategy; create a "tourism information base" for
niche market planning; identify key times of the year when
additional tourist visits would be helpful; create "To
Do in Revelstoke" packages focussed on the shoulder season;
and, create a publication describing outdoor recreational
activities in the region.
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Road/Drive-by
Traffic: Beautify and link the highway
area to downtown; construct public washrooms downtown and
on the highway; establish a year round hostel as part of the
national/international hostelling network; establish a hostel
at Roger's Pass; and, create a staff training plan for the
industry to continue providing excellence.
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Major Developments:
Develop Mount Mackenzie as a destination
ski hill; establish a funding mechanism for on-going grooming
of snowmobile trails; prepare an analysis and development
strategy of the backcountry site and route possibilities for
a hut-to-hut system; and, establish a marina on the Columbia
River at Revelstoke. |
Government Services
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Parks Canada:
Assist with the development of commercial
opportunities as part of their plan for cost recovery. |
Business Development
and Finance
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Development/Finance:
Continue to provide debt financing for
small scale business ventures; increase the size of the existing
loan portfolio; continue to provide business counselling for
small scale business start ups; continue to inform the film
industry about the qualities of Revelstoke for filming; and,
establish a restaurant that takes advantage of the high quality
setting in Revelstoke.
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Electronic
Commuting: Establish a DATAPAC entry
point; and, investigate the possibility of a fibre optic dump. |
Community, Organization
and Human Resources
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Visual
and Performing Arts: Conduct a feasibility
study on a visual and performing arts complex, integrating
the needs of the tourism industry, education institutions
and local performers; and, prepare a business plan for the
establishment of a Piano Museum.
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Industrial
Land: Carry out an inventory and
demand assessment.
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Training:
Enhance the Columbia Mountains Institute
concept (subject areas related to mountains and mountain ecosystems)
by integrating other education opportunities in Tourism and
Forestry.
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Heritage
Expansion: Expand the heritage protection
area to include the housing in the downtown core.
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Targeting
the Needs of Low Income Households: Develop
a coordinated strategy for meeting the basic needs and access
to income for low income households; and, establish a store
front presence in the downtown core for walk in economic development
traffic. |
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