Mar 15, 2012


Photo: County staff Joe Gallivan and Anne Marie Young outline the goals of the Sharbot Lake CIP at a public meeting held on March 8 to gain public input into the plan.

Judging by the close to 50 people who attended a public meeting held at Oso Hall on March 8, it looks as though both the county and township have been given the stamp of approval to forge ahead with the Sharbot Lake Community Improvement Plan. Attended by numerous local business owners and residents of Sharbot Lake and the surrounding area, the meeting included a short presentation by county staff members Anne Marie Young, Manager of Economic Sustainability and Joe Gallivan, Manager of Sustainability Planning. They outlined the goals of the CIP, which are mainly to encourage and stimulate economic development and community revitalization through financial incentives and funding programs for community projects. Possible projects highlighted included programs to facilitate facade and other structural improvements to commercial and other buildings, improvements to public recreation areas, downtown and waterfront revitalization projects, as well as improvements to street infrastructure and parking improvements. The township plan hopes to facilitate and encourage community change by focusing on local initiatives and priorities, and by creating partnerships between the private sector and community groups.

Central Frontenac CAO Shawn Trépanier, who led the public input section of the meeting, clarified that at this point in time the county has earmarked $70,000 in funding for the plan, with another $10,000 from the township. The $80,000 total he said could likely be doubled by accessing additional funding from other sources.

Following the formal presentation attendees weighed in on their priorities. Though the specific projects have yet to be determined overall there was a general consensus of the need for improved parking in the village, more commercial space, street improvements to Elizabeth Street, increased signage to draw people to the village and its businesses, and improved website visibility. Other suggestions included making Elizabeth Street one way, increasing seniors' housing, attracting business owners to vacant buildings, increasing public seating at recreational sites and offering recycling bins, to name just a few.

Sandra White, co-owner of the Sharbot Lake Country Inn, hopes to see some type of matching grants or interest-free loans that would help business owners wanting to make improvements. “If there was additional funding available that would help us to make enhancements or modifications to our business, that would be a great help and a great incentive,” she said.

Karen McGregor, co-ordinator at the St. Lawrence Employment Center in the village, said , “Signage is absolutely critical. We really need to get some signage out at critical points like at Highway 7, the 509, towards Ottawa and on 38, and under each sign to have a directory listing of local businesses.”

Township CAO Trépanier was pleased with the turnout at this first public input meeting for the Sharbot Lake CIP. “The turn out was better than expected and there was a lot of consensus and positive feed back about the plan, so now it is just up to us to get all of our ducks in a row, “ he said. “We are hoping to have a plan in place by September and our next step is to gather all of the information gained here and bring it back to the public to finalize the priorities we want to set. Then we will take the plan to the township for approval and start the actual CIP process. Hopefully by late fall we will have the funding programs in place and start making the funds available.”

 

 

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