Minto, Centre Wellington receive $35,000 from county
GUELPH – Wellington County council has approved funding requests from Minto and Centre Wellington totalling $70,000 from the county’s Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Local Implementation Fund.
Started in 2014, the fund provides lower-tier municipalities access to funding for BRE activities to enhance the local economy.
Starting this year, available funding increased from $25,000 to $35,000 per municipality.
Funding requests from Minto and Centre Wellington were reviewed by the county’s economic development committee and forwarded to council.
Minto will be using $30,000 for the ongoing operation of LaunchIt Minto, a business exploration centre based in Harriston. LaunchIt delivers programming across northern Wellington County, including mentorship, training, coaching and networking opportunities.
The town plans to put its remaining BRE funding of $5,000 towards the Meet Me in Minto program, a two-year Rural Economic Development funded project aimed at positioning the town as a destination, the county report states.
Centre Wellington plans to use $25,000 for its Elora and Fergus downtown shuttle bus service, which operates every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus holiday Mondays, between May 15 and Sept. 7.
Centre Wellington’s additional $10,000 in BRE funding will go to the Capturing Commerce in Centre Wellington project, a photography/videography initiative to create a comprehensive library of visual assets.
Council approved the BRE funding on March 26.
