Tonight marks the first of two public meetings to gather input on the latest options when it comes to the future of the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre.
Last month, a report was present to council saying the developers of the Downtown Chatham Centre revitalization project had walked back plans for an arena and entertainment complex and were going to refurbish the remainder of the mall. That left municipal officials with several options, including buying a portion of the mall to relocate the Civic Centre.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says two public consultation dates have been set, the first of which takes place Wednesday, September 13 at the Bradley Convention Centre with a focus on arts and culture, and the Chatham-Kent Public Library. (CLICK HERE to register)
“That’s an important piece of this is culture, we’re talking about the museum, library, art gallery, whether we should expand that.”
A second public meeting with a broader focus will be held next Wednesday, September 20th, also at the Bradley Convention Centre. Both meetings run from 6:30-8pm.
“Council has a decision to point in different directions, we can do nothing right through to build a brand new facility outside of downtown. At the end of next month, council’s going to decide which direction to move in, then we go from there.”
The five proposed options presented to Chatham-Kent Council are:
1. Status quo – address repairs and requirements on an as-needed basis.
2. Renovate existing Civic Centre.
3. Renovate the existing Civic Centre, Library Expansion, and Cultural Centre complex.
4. Build a new Civic Centre at a new location.
5. Purchase a portion of the DCC and relocate.
Municipal staff will review all of the comments and finalize a report to council by mid-October.
The report will be publicly released October 26th and discussed at the council meeting on October 30th.
