Uncertainty regarding the future of the village of Stirling’s Business Improvement Area and its board has been laid to rest.
Following a presentation by BIA co-chair Rob MacDonald last night at a special meeting of Stirling-Rawdon council it was decided that the BIA could control it’s own banking and that there would be no change to the boundaries in place for BIA membership.
MacDonald and other members of the board became alarmed at proposals coming from Stirling-Rawdon staff and council a few months ago that membership might only come from the downtown core and that it might cost significantly more for businesses in the BIA’s area.
Currently, all businesses within the limits of the village belong to and pay to support the BIA.
MacDonald said no matter how many times they tried to get involved in a dialogue recently there was no response.
He says with last night’s decision things are looking much brighter.
“With council’s decision myself and the rest of the BIA members are very happy and I hope we can regain the momentum and commitment we had before the issues arose so we can start trying to make the town of Stirling an interesting and a fun community for everyone.”
Council also supported a councillor John Rock motion that states that it is council’s responsibility to support its Business Improvement Area.
Mayor Bob Mullin and councillor Sari Watson, who both have business interests in Stirling, declared conflicts of interest and were not present for the discussion or decisions.
