MAITLAND: Anthony Kawalski knows that united, the Hants North area can stand.

Kawalski is a key leader in the newly formed Shore group, which represents all of the communities along the Noel Shore, from Maitland to Walton, in an effort to raise awareness and create economic development.

Most of the communities in the shore area have development associations, but Shore has representatives from all communities working together.

“It’s quite an adventurous and bold task, we are attempting to unite the different community groups of this area, the businesses of this area, and the individuals of this area,” Kawalski said during the Dec. 8, executive committee of council meeting. “(We want) to create a body which is looking and aiming at drawing municipal funding and support, and also federal funding and support, for our individual community needs, as they are represented within the various groups of this growing partnership in a way that will enable our needs as individuals and members of those communities to come to fruition.”

He explains the intent of the partnership is to make the entire area more viable.

“The purpose of creating a rural partnership is to achieve the following goals, to enhance the sustainability of rural communities in times of economic challenge, we all need to pull together to look at routes towards sustainability; to diversify the economy of these rural communities, to look towards ways of enhancing that sustainability through process and methods of diversification; to increase the competitiveness of the rural communities in terms of drawing in dollars, funding and visitors who might be going to other areas who might not be aware of our area, and to collaborate on issues that are common within different rural communities,” Kawalski explained. “When we look at issues of demographics and people moving away for employment, we need to look at ways of retaining those people and creating communities that can thrive.”

Maggie Rogers, a representative from the Walton District Development Association, says it’s a rural partnership that could help the small communities accomplish big things.

“The partnership project will provide resources for rural services required for planning and development, enhancement and implementation of local projects,” she said. “We certainly have a great opportunity here. It is the intention that Shore be a partner in working with the municipality to deliver the benefits and services for the development strategy in the region.”

Liking the idea of a rural partnership, Councillor Keith Rhyno, who represents Maitland, expressed concerns this is not a strategy already in place within the municipality’s Economic and Business Development department.

“I agree with the concept of the teamwork approach in the Hants North area, I’ll be quite honest what (they’re) doing is what I expected our department to do and the reports (they’re) giving are the ones I would like to see come from our department,” he said.

Warden John Patterson would also like to see the Hants North area develop. He says there might be an untapped market that can be explored.

“The shore area, in my opinion, should look at the development of a day trip, when people get off those boats they don’t all have to go to Peggy’s Cove,” he said. “They could go to the Hants shore.”

It’s something Rogers agrees should be explored, adding it could have a dramatic impact on the area’s economy.

“(Tourism is) a billion dollar industry,” she said. “One of the things lacking is places for people to go, there’s a billion dollar industry out there and we need to grasp that, if we can, as a small place. If East Hants could somehow get a small grip on that I think it would be very successful to promote more than just our tourism. We would like to get a part of that and the only way to do that is if we unite as communities and groups.”

In order to create and fund this partnership, Kawalski and Rogers have asked for a grant of $39,400 to set up an office and a working relationship within the community groups.

Even though there is initial set up funding requests, Rogers says another reason the group should be supported by the municipality.

“We’re trying to initiate this Shore group to pull all our resources. We have a lot of very qualified business people in the communities and just bringing them all together we can stop saying, ‘we want money, and we want this.’ It’s hard. I know of limited budgets, so we’re trying to find a way to resource those dollars (elsewhere),” she said.

Council has pushed the request from the Shore group to budget talks for further consideration.

acameron@enfieldweeklypress.com