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Local clown atfund raiser Stephen Chait of the Stephen Chait Consulting Lti. firrn which has been obtained to provide an economic development strategy for the town presented their report on Monday at council. Chait said that his firre was one of three that has been working on the strategy for the past months. He said they first iooked at wliat was in the Town of Newcas tle and have now devised a recommendable strategy. He said the plan was designed to increase competitiveness for the town and to increase jobs. He pointed to three main ob- Qjectives which included job retention; job attraction and creation and finally increased taxable assessment. In speaking of job retention he said there were 602 employers in the Town of Newcaste providing one job for every five residents of the municipality. He stated that the Town must work towards a job for every 2.5 of its residents. He said this would cut down on the use of the automobile in the municipaiity. Chait aiso suggested that there must be a diversity of jobs in the municipality to meet the needs of the labour force. As to increasing- taxable assessment the consultant pointed He outlined three workshops that had been held with sectors of the community and although there were criticisms there was one point that came through strong the satisfaction of the quality of life for the residents of the Town. He suggested that in the beginning shifting of staff may be acceptable to get the planned strategy underway but in the future it would require a ful-time co-ordinator along with staff at a cost of somne $250,000. Chait also said there was need for a greater emphasis fromn the downtown areas that do flot exist now. He further stated that there was need for a greater liaison between the town with business. He also said there was a lack of unity among the many small centres in the municipality. As for 407 hig,hway he said it could not be ignored and that such highways were corridors for investment. "Your day is comîng", he said, "407 is the next frontier". Staff are now to report on the strategy plan when Chait will again be present to discuss the plan further. Consultants outlines development strategy