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Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Town pursuing $50M grant for “ Great Spaces, Great Places” By Ron Giofu The town is looking to get a bunch of projects off of its plate and do so under one big grant proposal. A $50 million grant is being sought under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) to fund a host of projects, including botanical gardens and outdoor amenities at Belle Vue, completion of the Duffy's project, linking neighbourhoods in the Simcoe St. area, and fully developing the Libro Centre property with a new 25m pool, baseball diamonds, trails along Big Creek, a nature lookout, festival plaza, pickleball courts, skateboard park and tennis courts. CAO John Miceli credited his staff for coming together to complete the proposal, which is entitled “Great Spaces, Great Places.” He believes it demonstrates fiscal responsibility as the town would pay 27 cents for every dollar invested. A successful grant application would result in the federal government kicking in $20 million, another $16.5 million coming from the province while $13.5 million would be paid by the town. Miceli stated money would start being put aside in the 2020 budget, and that would show the upper levels of government the town is serious about the projects. “We have competing battles going on throughout our community as it relates to infrastructure but this is the opportunity to leverage senior levels of government for 27 cents on the dollar,” he said.
CAO John Miceli goes over the “Great Spaces, Great Places” grant application during Monday night’s council meeting. The town is seeking $50 million under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. If the grant is successful, the town would address 48 of the 77 recommendations laid out in the Parks Master Plan, five of the 29 strategic plan recommendations and five primary goals of the Official Plan, he stated. The project would be financed over seven years, if the grant request is successful, which is the same time frame for completion of the projects. The Belle Vue house itself is not covered under this grant, as Miceli noted the town has partnered with the Belle Vue Conservancy on a separate $4.29 million grant request. Town council could, over time, scale back the overall project but “it's an application to get us to the table,” he said. The grant application is due Nov. 12. “We believe ours is a very unique project,” he said.
Mayor Aldo DiCarlo said “it is almost too good to believe.” He indicated costs would be higher if the town were to look at these projects on its own individually. Both DiCarlo and Miceli indicated these are projects residents have been asking for and DiCarlo said it is a vision that could benefit the town long-term. “When the CAO brought this to my attention, as a politician I was speechless,” said DiCarlo. Asked where people are going to stay if this grant becomes reality, the mayor revealed the downtown hotel could break ground in the spring while the hotel proposed near the Libro Centre is coming along. Both developers are trying not to duplicate amenities, said the mayor.
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