Given the first meeting of the Governance Committee for the new year happening shortly, I thought this was an interesting article; a more united and regionalized United Way. Not a bad way to stretch dollars farther and still serve the citizens and charities of the Niagara Peninsula.
Along with the vote to merge the local Chambers of Commerce, a sign of things to come for the Region . . . ?
A couple of interesting stories in today’s Standard.
The first is a follow-up story about Our Community Food Store and their quest to put a co-op grocery store somewhere in the downtown of St. Catharines. The thrust of the article focuses on the success of the Lexington Cooperative Market in Buffalo. It was unfortunate to read some pessimism in the article, but overall it seems people are pretty optimistic and very supportive of the idea. The truth is we’ve done a disservice to downtown residents by allowing the core to deteriorate to the point where there is no grocery option left, but the city is moving in the right direction now. We’re getting to a point where residential occupation downtown will hit critical mass, and when that happens I think those amenities we need will be there.
The other article I wanted to highlight was regarding Regional Transit – numbers are in, and show a steady increase in ridership (although not where it was hoped). The biggest drawback, as far as I can see (and I use the service) is the cost. $5 moving to $6 does not make sense. If I have to get to work on a daily basis, $200-$240 a month just simply doesn’t make it affordable for me to get rid of my car. The Region needs to roll out some affordable fare options like monthly passes.
An interesting budget meeting last night, where the Grants committee approved recommending to Council that Our Community Food Store be given a $2500 grant to help in putting together a market study on the viability of a co-op in the downtown core.
I think the goals of this group are good, and like Councillor Elliott I support the idea of a grocery option downtown. I think the Co-op group is being prudent in conducting the market study before putting together their business plan, and lost in a lot of the conversation is the fact that even they don’t really know what form this venture may take. While they have been very optimistic about timelines and ideas for the business, they have also been quite realistic in conversations with Councillors. They know that market conditions will dictate what direction the project moves in.
The bottom-line, however, is that if we really want a Residential revitalization in the downtown, amenities like grocery will have to exist sooner or later. I give a lot of credit to this group of residents for taking these important first steps.
Great article in the Standard about David Oakes (Director of Economic Development) And Rick Lane (Director of Recreation and Community Services) making their away across Southern Ontario to the new Spectator Facilities that have been built in the last 10-15 years. A lot of communities have made their way down this path – it’s good to see our Senior Management out there early in the process making sure we learn from the mistakes of other cities.
I give Doug Herod credit where credit is due – he does write a funny column, and his ability to focus on the minutiae is second to none and always results in an interesting column. Thankfully, I’ve managed to generally escape his wrath. I do not expect that record to hold up indefinitely.
All that said, todays column is an interesting and you should head over to read it. I didn’t think he’d be able to resist talking about the Spectator Facility, so it’s good to see the blackout is over. Keeps us on our toes.
In other SCStandard news – a great article about Mahtay Cafe and the very different and awesome vibe going on in that new business on St. Paul – if you haven’t yet, check it out (maybe take advantage of the free parking in the Carlisle St. garage) – and Bowling for Big Brothers and Big Sisters is coming up in February – I had a great time last year, even with my atrocious bowling skills. Greg Washuta is the Councillor to have on your team – I am sincerely hoping he’s on mine again this year.
