It seems “downtown” beautification is in the eye of the beholder.
What was expected to be a $50,000 program for businesses in downtown Liverpool and Caledonia is now a $40,000 initiative covering a third commercial area that’s home to national chains such as McDonald’s, Tim Hortons, Sobeys, and Atlantic Superstore.
Region of Queens Municipality (RQM) council voted 7 to 1 in favour of the business façade project for the two downtowns and the area near Exit 19 on Hwy. 103.
“I thought, when we were talking about downtown, we were talking about downtown,” councillor Brian Fralic said, referring to the program map. “I don’t believe Exit 19 needs any help. They’re doing just fine on their own. It’s the downtown that’s suffering.”
Local residents generally consider the Exit 19 area to be separate and distinct from downtown Liverpool. RQM’s top bureaucrat took a different view during debate.
“Really the downtown is everything there now,” said CAO Chris McNeill. “We tried to encompass as many (businesses) as we thought were reasonable in what we thought was a downtown area.”
The same inclusive approach was used in North Queens to capture properties not typically considered to be in Caledonia’s commercial core, he said.
Fralic was unmoved.
“You do realize that downtown revitalization by every municipality’s standard is trying to revitalize the main section that brings tourists into town?” he asked McNeill. “(This) takes the focus off downtown, which is the area that’s suffering. We’ve been talking for years — decades — about getting the downtown spruced up.”
McNeill said council could amend the map with a motion, but Fralic appeared to have little, if any, support for such a proposal.
“I have no issue with the actual design map,” said Deputy Mayor Susan MacLeod.
“I’m happy with the map as it stands,” said councillor Heather Kelly, who represents what is traditionally considered to be downtown Liverpool. “It doesn’t mean it can’t be refined in future years.”
Councillor Jack Fancy, who cast the lone vote against adopting the program, said he wanted all commercial properties in Queens County to be covered, not just those in Liverpool and Caledonia.
The façade program is designed to help property owners repair and rejuvenate occupied and vacant storefronts.
“Projects must take place on the exterior of the building and be visible by all members of the public,” a staff report said. Eligible work includes siding, trim, windows, doors, awnings, signage, visible roofing, trees, shrubs, and planters.
Projects may be funded up to $5,000 and property owners are expected to match the funding they receive through the program.
RQM set aside $25,000 for the initiative in this year’s budget and previously indicated it would ask the province to match that amount for total program funding of $50,000. The province recently announced $25,000 for beautification and streetscaping in RQM, but only $15,000 of that will be added to façade program’s budget.
“At the time of the budget we set aside $50,000 on the revenue side expecting we would have $25,000 of our own money plus $25,000 in provincial money,” McNeill said. “When the program came out five or six weeks ago, it was expanded beyond façade and included other stuff that had to be tourism-related, so our application had to be more broad-based.”
The remaining $10,000 in provincial funding will be applied to signage at the Old Town Hall and a downtown development plan, McNeill said.
Following the meeting, Mayor David Dagley said the project map is intended to be fair to as many businesses as possible. “We tried to not exclude someone specifically,” he said.
Asked if fast food restaurants and grocery stores near Exit 19 would qualify for beautification funding, he said, “It’s possible they may, but it’s very unlikely because they have a standard storefront that they’re required as a franchise to maintain.”
The program, including its eligibility map and definition of downtown, will be revisited next year, Dagley said.
LighthouseNow Progress Bulletin
August 1, 2018
Scott Costen 