Members of the business community here heard March 9 there will be lots of banners in the downtown as part of the Business Improvement Area’s plans for beautification.
Lindsey Gray told the annual spring meeting the board has chosen new and larger banners for St. Andrew Street and would appreciate feedback.
Some hardware must be to installed on light posts, but once that is done, banners can be placed for years to come.
The cost for both to date is $11,500 out of a budget of $12,500.
Gray said some older banners in good condition will be located on sidestreets where there are light posts, bringing lots of colour to the downtown. She added the BIA will select another three banners over the course of the next few years.
Tory Laing said Christmas in the downtown will be brighter with LED (light emitting diode) lighting on posts, and the group is anticipating temporary posts. They will “blend in” with the stores in daylight.
They will stay in place through January to make the downtown appear less gloomy from winter.
Chairman Jackie Fraser said those are seasonal lights rather than just for Christmas.
George Mochrie said this will be the first time the banners will be in place all winter, and, “We need lots of colour in January.”
His project is Little Falls, and the decoration for Templin Gardens, where, he said, the BIA has “lots of plans.”
There will be banners and hanging baskets, clusters of benches to create a picnic atmosphere, and they will be “vandal proof.” He said the goal is to keep those out longer, perhaps through November.
As well, there will be spaces for coming events posters, and he would like to see those be two- or three-sided, with such things as a map of the downtown and coming events.
He said it would be nice to have signs that describe the history of the area, and a place people could plug in their phones to hear about that history.
Mochrie said the plan is to “set the stage for the next couple of years,” and he hopes to provide lights for the river and Templin Gardens.
“We are not sitting idle,” Mochrie said. “There’s a lot of great ideas.”
Other business
Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj praised the executive, saying, “You’re getting it all together.”
She said, “We’re hoping to be a major partner.” Council is working with Centre Wellington Hydro’s General Manager, Doug Sherwood, on the best way to provide lights for the river and Templin Gardens.
“We do think it’s a good idea to light up our river,” she said. “They do it in Europe.”
Ross-Zuj said the Scotland and Tower Street bridges will need repairs or replacing soon, and the township is planning for that, particularly because both bridges currently carry sewage pipes and that issue will have to be figured out before work commences.
She said the Tower Street bridge “is definitely on the books” over the next two years and replacement is ideal, but “It’s not going to come without disruption.” Someone asked her if both bridges would be done at the same time.
Ross-Zuj quipped, “That only happens in Guelph. The county is aware of the issues.”
Bridges would be done one at a time to avoid cutting off most of the town from one side to the other.
She said the county is considering plans to refurbish Fergus’s Carnegie library. She urged members to pass along ideas to the librarians.
She said the new OPP building is set to open in Aboyne on April 29, and she is uncertain what will become of the old building in the downtown.
Someone suggested it might be a place to house social services, and so get that service into the community and at least some of it out of Guelph.
Ross-Zuj said the new OPP building will have public space for meetings. “I think you’ll find it absolutely stunning.”
As for Walmart in the north end of town, Ross-Zuj said officials have been cooperative in their talks. She said zoning is in place, so the township has little in the way of bargaining power, but she is encouraged with the current talks.
“We’re doing the best we possibly can,” the mayor said, adding the old Fergus council was smart to plan for some type of store in the north end of town when it approved the subdivision there.
Others asked about getting Walmart to cooperate.
Ross-Zuj said when the township negotiated with a store in Elora, it had a zone change application.
Councillor Walt Visser said Walmart does not need a zone change, and said, to chuckles, “We can’t coerce them like we did in Elora.”
Others asked about a superstore by Zehr’s.
Ross-Zuj said its owner, Loblaws, “went silent” with new store building about four years ago, and nothing is on the table for now. That is why the in Elora is still in limbo.
