By David MacDonald
KAREN BAILLIE: Sowhat was it that brought themagazine to seek out the DTP? SPOTLIGHT ON BUINESS MAGAZINE: We’ve been hearing a lot of positive things about the DTP from businesses we’ve been speaking with in Truro. Your new Vision Statement, Promoting a unique environment for business and urban living in the heart of Truro, is intriguing. What exactly is it that the DTP does for its members? What services do you provide that make you such a hit? Well, we try to be all that our members want or need us to be. We steer economic development, we work on proposals that improve the downtown core, encourage community interaction and visitation, and we help to promote our businesses and our community at large. Generally speaking, the Downtown Truro Partnership is a ‘business improvement association’ or organization. Representing the downtown core business community, the DTP develops and implements economic development, marketing and promotional initiatives on behalf of their membership. The DTP encourages a unique environment – safe, clean, beautiful and vibrant, promoting the downtown for and to, businesses, visitors and those interested in urban living. Within that mandate, the DTP also invests in the community at large, providing or leveraging funds and development for green and public spaces and infrastructure, and providing community engagement opportunities through social and cultural events. The organization’s membership is comprised of all businesses that fall within a particular geographic boundary known as the Urban Regional Core (URC) and those businesses pay a self-imposed area rate or tax, in lieu of a membership fee. The organization is led by a volunteer Board of Directors – the volunteers being drawn from the member base –and they maintain a small administrative office with minimal staff.
“The DTP has represented the interests of the downtown business community since 1979.”
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FEBRUARY 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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