businessNOW™ is the most comprehensive weekly round-up of business and organizational news and events from Peterborough and across the Kawarthas.
The week’s news features Peterborough’s economic development organizations coming together as TeamPTBO to launch a survey to evaluate impact of COVID-19 on local businesses, Community Futures Peterborough offering COVID-19 loan relief for its business clients, entrepreneur Leslie Bradford-Scott launching a podcast to explore her father’s twisted past, nine municipalities in the Kawarthas get $3.2 million in gas tax funding for public transit, and other notable business and organization news from across the Kawarthas
Due to the impact of COVID-19, no new business events have been added this week, and previously listed business events have ether been cancelled or postponed.
Peterborough’s economic development organizations launch survey to evaluate impact of COVID-19 on local businesses
Peterborough economic development organizations, who collectively call themselves “TeamPTBO”, have come together to identify the impact of COVID-19 on the local business community.
The group — Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED), the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, Community Futures Peterborough, and the Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas — is working to assist the local business community in dealing with the economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of people are saying a lot of different things online about what’s being affected,” explains PKED corporate communications officer Keaton Robbins. “If we can push everyone to this survey, we can begin to triage the main issues for different local businesses and how they are being affected.”
The survey is available now at www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVID-19BusinessSurvey. There is no specific deadline, but businesses are encouraged to complete the survey when convenient.
By working together, TeamPTBO will be able to identify issues as well as meaningful programs to assist businesses, from small to large, in recovering from the impacts of the pandemic. The information collected through the survey, which could be used in seek funding from different levels of government, will have the most impact coming from a collective of economic development organizations.
“We want to make sure we are getting the same information and we’re creating a unified program to help our local businesses,” Robbins says.
The survey includes questions such as where a business is located, what sector a business is in, changes to business operations as a result of COVID-19 including impacts on employees, other major concerns, and the type of assistance needed.
Community Futures Peterborough offers COVID-19 loan relief for its business clients
Community Futures Peterborough (CFP) has announced it is supporting its business clients during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering them an option to defer their April 2020 loan payment.
“We are experiencing an uncertain time and want our clients to know we are here to support their business,” says Grant Seabrooke, vice-chair of the CFP board. “Our priority is to ensure our clients know we are here to help.”
Community Futures Peterborough currently has 147 clients with over $9 million dollars invested in community businesses.
“We are continuing to work with our TeamPTBO partners on developing assistance wherever possible,” adds CFP executive director Gail Moorhouse. “The opportunity to postpone the April payment is one option we hope offers some comfort to our clients during this time.”
The CFP board is continuing to closely review the situation and is prepared to offer future relief as required.
Business clients of Community Futures Peterborough will be contacted via email and will have the opportunity to opt-in to the deferral program.
There is no negative impact to the businesses credit score for those who select to postpone their payment.
Entrepreneur Leslie Bradford-Scott launching a podcast to explore her father’s twisted past
“Rewriting Dad” is a podcast hosted by Walton Wood Farm founder and CEO Leslie Bradford-Scott and local actor and filmmaker Megan Murphy. The podcast is based on a secret manuscript Bradford-Scott’s late father wrote in prison 32 years ago. (Graphic: Rewriting Dad)
Peterborough-area entrepreneur Leslie Bradford-Scott, the CEO and founder of award-winning Walton Wood Farm in Bailieboro, is launching a new podcast on Tuesday, March 24th called “Rewriting Dad”.
A few months ago, Bradford-Scott was given a secret manuscript her late father wrote in prison 32 years ago. The manuscript contained shocking stories of her father’s involvement with the Mafia, the CIA, the INS, the FBI, and the RCMP.
With her childhood memories turned inside-out, Bradford-Scott was left with more questions about her family than answers.
Along with her co-host, local actor and filmmaker Megan Murphy — whose documentary film Murphy’s Law was based on the discovery of own father’s long-lost journal of his 1973 solo bike journey through Ireland — Bradford-Scott will try to discover the truth behind this strange and twisted family saga.
“Light-hearted hosts Meg Murphy, the daughter of a criminal lawyer, & Leslie Bradford-Scott, daughter of a criminal, turn each page inside out as they try to get to the truth of a dangerous, shocking, and twisted history,” the podcast description reads.
For more information about “Rewriting Dad”, including a teaser, visit www.rewritingdad.ca.
Nine municipalities in the Kawarthas get $3.2 million in gas tax funding for public transit
The City of Petrborough has received $1.9 million in gas tax funding for Peterborough Transit. (Photo: Brianna Salmon / GreenUP)
Last Thursday (March 12), the Ontario Ministry of Transportation announced $365.3 million in funding for 111 municipalities to expand and improve local transportation across the province — including $3.2 million for nine municipalities in the Kawarthas.
The funding comes from Ontario’s gas tax program, which provides stable and predictable transit funding for Ontario municipalities by providing two cents per litre of provincial gas tax to improve and expand transit.
Determined by the number of litres of gasoline sold in the province, funding under the program can be used to upgrade infrastructure, increase accessibility, purchase transit vehicles, add more routes. and extend hours of service.
The following nine municipalities in the Kawarthas receiving funding are:
- City of Peterborough – $1,896,894
- Kawartha Lakes – $703,810
- Cobourg – $203,496
- Port Hope – $164,798
- Bancroft (Hastings Highlands, Highlands East, Wollaston) – $88,448
- Trent Hills – $58,199
- Cramahe (Alnwick/Haldimand, Hamilton Township) – $48,600
- County of Peterborough – $41,007
- Dysart et Al – $14,458
Other notable business and organization news from across the Kawarthas
Here’s a summary of other notable business and organizational news from across the Kawarthas over the past week:
- Shelley Barrie and Gail Lockington have pledged $25,000 to “Our Pet Project”, the Peterborough Humane Society’s campaign to build its new animal care centre. The two made the donation on behalf of their dogs Aube and Sammy. Ground-breaking of the new centre is expected in the fall 2020, with construction anticipated to be complete in winter 2021.
- John Rufa, owner of Kawartha Country Wines (2452 County Road 36, Buckhorn), is expanding with a new 3,000-square-foot production facility and a 1,000-square-foot wine tasting room that will also be open for special events.
- Demolition of the former Baskin-Robbins plant in Peterborough is about to begin. Dave Pogue purchased the property at Aylmer and Simcoe Streets and is planning to redevelop the property as a combination of commercial units and apartments.
- Restwell Upholstery (494 The Parkway, Peterborough) is celebrating 75 years in business in 2020. Kerri Rogers and her husband purchased the business, formerly located at Ashburnham and Lansdowne Streets in Peterborough, from the Peltz family in 2008.
- Due to the COVID-18 pandemic, Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development (270 George St N., Peterborough) is closed to the public until Tuesday, April 14th. The closure includes the Visitor Centre. While all economic develoopment and tourism services are still available, all workshops and events are cancelled during this time.
- The Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas has closed both incubator locations in Peterborough and Lindsay until Monday, April 6th due to the COVID-18 pandemic. Innovation Cluster startup clients will still have access to the space with their access cards, but members of the public must be escorted on the premises. All advisory services are still available via phone.
- Venture13 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre in Cobourg is closed as part of the Town of Cobourg’s shutdown of all municipal facilities in response to the COVID-16 pandemic. All activities and events at Venture13 are cancelled.
Due to COVID-19, most business organizations have either cancelled or postponed upcoming events, including meetings and workshops, during March and into April. Business events will return to businessNOW when restrictions on public gatherings have been lifted.
