Council’s decision to dissolve the Revitalization Committee and essentially turn control for downtown development over to an outside consulting firm sends a clear and very disturbing message about how the input of skilled, hard working and visionary community members is not valued or really wanted. The Revitalization Committee, made up of numerous dedicated local volunteers, has reached out to the community on many occasions to help create a vision that reflects what people say they want for their community. This approach is a ‘ground up’ and proven system of sustainable community development.

The Build Bancroft model is inflexible and “top down” (to use OEB consultant Greg Black’s term). We will be told what our town will look like. This is not an approach that seeks to work cooperatively with existing community groups, volunteers and resources to achieve affordable, sustainable, made-in-Bancroft development. Instead, this top down model creates its own new committees (some believe that these committees are just a façade), and shuts down and/or sidelines existing projects and plans – anything that isn’t “theirs”.

I believe that Council wants to do what is in the best interests of the citizens it represents. They recognize that there are many exciting possibilities for our town’s development. The Action Planning meeting hosted by the Revitalization Committee several weeks ago clearly demonstrated that there are a lot of people in this town who have excellent ideas, expertise, and a willingness to work together for our community’s growth and development.

To create truly sustainable and healthy communities, we need to be actively engaged as citizens, and not let someone else tell us what we’ll get. It’s not too late to re-think our direction. There are many excellent ideas that we, as a community, can still take charge of and develop. There is a lot of local expertise in securing grants and other funding. And we certainly have many excellent contractors in the area that would be able to do the work required.

What do you want your town to look like? Who should profit from new development? Who do you want in charge?

“The province is providing $75,000 toward the Re-Developing Downtown Bancroft project. The funding will help develop a plan that identifies what initiatives are needed to attract investors, developers and private/public partnerships. ”

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First handout showcasing potential redevelopment of downtown Bancroft (January 2009) (pdf)

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Bancroft This Week (regularly reporting on the redevelopment project)

The price tag for phase one of the plan has been estimated to cost around $2.9 million that will be spent over the next year.

Churchill said that the hope is that the town will acquire government funding to the tune of $2.5 million to go along with other in kind contributions by the town and other public sector investors willing to be a part of the project.

The expectation is that the final cost of the first phase on the Town of Bancroft would be in the range of $35,000 to 60,000 if all funding initiatives are successful over the course of this portion of the project.”

“The only recorded vote against moving forward with the research stage for the re-development was a cautious Bernice Jenkins who only stated that after much personal and public discussion she could not vote to move forward. ”

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Source: Bancroft This Week http://www.bancroftthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1498864

“Do We Really Need All of This?” was one of the hottest topics in the conversations that took place with many contributors making very valid, insightful and at times, purely emotional posts.

What is your opinion?

Have your say – whether you are a regular visitor, cottage owner, year round resident, or simply a passerby of Bancroft’s downtown area. We’d love to hear what you think!