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?

Share your thoughts or comments below….