The Invest North Bay Development Corporation (INBDC) could be dissolved pending city council’s approval.
The INBDC submitted a report to council indicating it does not want to renew its operating agreement with the city.
“It didn’t succeed as it was intended, but it was a bold and innovative idea at the time,” commented councillor Dave Mendicino, who serves as interim chair of INBDC.
The INBDC is recommending council not renew its five-year operating agreement with the city, and shift the board to be a public economic advisory committee.
“The economic advisory committee keeps that business expertise and know-how at the table. It will just streamline the approach,” noted Mendicino. “We feel it will work better because now they can drive ideas and initiatives directly to council in a more open and transparent fashion.”
Invest North Bay was founded in 2016 as a means to attract high-profile investors to the city.
Due to it being a corporation, it did not function as a public board, meaning it did not have to adhere to the Municipal Code of Conduct.
This means that board meetings and subsequent decisions did not have to be made public as is the case with other municipal boards and committees.
In its report to council, the INBDC board said there were issues experienced by other municipalities that also had similar investment corporations.
“It was found where development corporations are created for economic development, the separation of roles and responsibilities between Council, City Staff and the development corporation board are complicated and challenging to manage,” the report states.
“It was also found, that the public’s questioning of a development corporation’s effectiveness, transparency and accountability is not unique to North Bay,” the report continued.
In the report, INBDC indicated that its most notable accomplishment was identifying the need for an Innovation Hub on Wyld Street, across from the bus terminal.
Council is being recommended to allow INBDC to become a public advisory board. The vote will happen at Tuesday’s meeting.
