Councillor Reta Moyer expressed concern on Monday night with Guelph- Eramosa’s plans for the revitalization of downtown Rockwood, but her comments seemed to baffle at least two fellow councillors.
Chief Administrative Officer Janice Sheppard introduced the topic by explaining the first step in the revitalization process would be developing a community improvement plan.
Among other things, the plan will outline costs, define the improvement area, address parking issues, introduce facade guidelines and provide a design for improvements to coincide with work on Highway 7, which the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has scheduled for 2011.
Planner Bernie Hermsen, whose firm MHBC Planning will develop the community improvement plan, said the expected cost will be around $35,000.
Mayor Chris White said up to half the cost of the project could be funded through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), with possibly another $10,000 coming from the Wellington-Waterloo Community Futures Development Corporation.
Councillor Doug Breen said at a recent bridge dedication ceremony Guelph MPP Liz Sandals noted one of the reasons the township has been so successful in funding applications is all the supporting documents it submits. He sees the Rockwood plan as another example that could help secure provincial funding.
But Moyer told councillors they are “missing the point.” She said the area once defined as the “downtown” of Rockwood – namely, just Highway 7 – is no longer accurate.
She criticized past township planning practices, including the “asinine” idea to not provide proper sidewalks for local children walking to school. Moyer also expressed concern that the township is proceeding with the revitalization plans based on the fact there is funding available, which she likened to “the tail wagging the dog.”
Breen replied, and Hermsen confirmed, the preliminary area includes almost the entire community of Rockwood.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Breen said. He asked if Moyer wanted to rezone residential areas as commercial. She seemed open to the idea, and was supported by councillor Roger Knapp.
“Do you want to sprawl the town or build it?” Knapp asked, backing Moyer’s idea that small commercial shops on side streets should be one of the plan’s goals.
“We’ve been at this for a while,” White replied, speaking of the township’s commercial corridor improvement committee, which has been discussing Rockwood plans for about 18 months.
White said the community improvement plan has nothing to do with sprawl, as Rockwood’s current border is frozen.
He added the funding is not the motivation behind the plan – as Moyer suggested – but the exact opposite is the case.
“This is something that needs to be done,” he said. The idea is to create a “walkable community,” specifically for school children, as well as revitalize the downtown and take advantage of the conservation area, White said.
Specifically, the mayor added, it will save money if the township plans sidewalk improvements around the MTO’s Highway 7 plans.
White wondered if the real issue was that the township is spending money in Rockwood, so he highlighted the proposed $6-million recreation facility in Marden, as well as work in Eden Mills.
“That’s not what this is about, Mr. Mayor, so don’t blow smoke,” Moyer snapped.
White asked if the councillor was finished, to which Moyer replied she was not but she would be quiet for the time being.
A resolution to proceed with the plan and an application to amend the county’s official plan to designate downtown Rockwood a “community improvement project area” was passed 3-1 by council. Moyer abstained from voting.
The resolution also stated the township will forego the usual competitive procurement process in order to hire MHBC Planning, and will pay for the project through the Rockwood Hydro Fund and any outside grant opportunities.
