Biz looking to city for $150,000 infusion

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This article was published 06/01/2024 (816 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Determined to make the Brandon Downtown Biz organization successful, a business owner is preparing to ask city council for funding to get it up and running again.

Jordan Ludwig is a downtown Brandon business owner and committee member with the Brandon Downtown Biz organization.

It was established by a group of business operators in 2012 and was a “going concern” before it folded during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been dormant ever since.

So, because they are starting from scratch, and “rising from the ashes,” Ludwig said, they need a boost from the city.

“It is a huge amount of work to try to get downtown to the standard that it should be, and it is something that will never be accomplished on a volunteer-only basis. The Biz is looking to hire a full-time staff person to basically enact all the wishes or goals.”

The financial ask that Ludwig will make at Monday’s regular council meeting is for $150,000 to hire a staff person, pay operational costs including office space, and for funds to be released back into the community through various programs and supports.

The staff person, Ludwig added, will funnel information into the organization and then out to the people in the community about the work that needs to be done.

“Everybody is trying to make it better in their own little way, but nobody’s talking to each other, so there’s duplication of efforts. There’s a lack of understanding of who’s responsible for the things that need to happen,” Ludwig said.

“So, at the end of the day, we’re hoping that the Biz can become the centre point, or the group that brings all these people together, and comes up with the final plan for downtown and try to make it come to life again.”

In 2019, city council adopted the Downtown Brandon Secondary Plan, which was a framework for future planning and development of the downtown.

The original document is 46 pages long and includes the vision for the downtown as being pedestrian friendly, improving existing parks, encouraging bicycle use, creating incentives for business investment, providing social services and increasing the number of people living downtown with a mix of affordable housing.

Ludwig said no one has taken ownership of the document, so it’s time to go through it again, and champion each of the items that need to happen, because a lot of the goals in it are still relevant to this day.

“Essentially, it becomes kind of our northern star, and we’ll bring that document alive and find the best people to do it.”

As well as things that the Biz can do, Ludwig said, there are tasks that can be done by the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation, the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, Ask Auntie, police and security.

“There are challenges in our downtown core, but that doesn’t mean that we can ignore them.

“So, the only way that we’re going to fix this is to identify and recognize the problem, talk about it, and have hard conversations about what needs to change in order to make it better for the downtown. But also, better for those folks that are less advantaged than us,” Ludwig said.

There were 300 businesses on the original Biz mailing list in the downtown area, which is from First Street to 18th Street and Victoria Avenue to Pacific Avenue.

Ludwig said after one email and one week, he has had 20 new downtown members sign up for the newly re-formed Biz.

They’re offering a tiered membership with costs ranging from $100 to $300 a year, depending on the size of the business.

“I am more excited about the downtown than I have been in a long time. It feels real, in that you’ve got a bunch of people who have raised their hands and said, ‘We want to be involved, we want to make a difference,’” Ludwig said.

The next step for the Brandon Downtown Biz will be an annual general meeting scheduled for Jan. 31, during which board members will be elected and volunteers will be welcomed.

The formal membership drive will happen in the weeks following the AGM.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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