The new economic developer tasked with leading the revitalization of Wheatley wants to ensure the community’s collective voices are heard throughout the process.
Just a few weeks after being hired to lead Wheatley’s redevelopment task force, Kyra Knapp said planning is already taking place to move forward with a two-year comprehensive recovery and development strategy for the town.
She said the task force is currently developing a phased approach, which will include risk mitigation, preparation for the future, various studies, and community consultation.
Knapp added that the task force will be keeping the community informed throughout the process and will make sure “that their voices are central to the redevelopment process.”
“That’s something that’s really important to us and we’ve discussed it as a task force and with the municipality — ensuring that the consultations that we do are trauma-informed, that we are looking at things from a community perspective, she said.
Along with the redevelopment, Knapp will act as an overall ambassador for Wheatley’s interests following the August 2021 gas explosion in the town’s downtown core that caused millions of dollars of damage and resulted in numerous injuries.
Knapp has previous experience serving as an economic development officer with Caldwell First Nation and as an economic strategist with Parry Sound Tourism. As well, following graduate school, Knapp began her career in economic development by working for the Municipality of Chatham-Kent
She said accepting her position leading the Wheatley task force felt “serendipitous.”
“The whole community had done so much for me and my career and the trajectory of my career that I could use all of these tools that I’ve developed over the past 13 years and bring them back to do something meaningful,” she said.
With a budget of $450,000, Knapp’s position and the Wheatley task force have been fully funded by the Ontario government.
