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September 19, 2013 | 84 pages
www.insideottawavalley.com
MPP Hillier ousted from shadow cabinet as labour critic. — Page 2
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Photo by HOWAIDA SOROUR
Paws for Thought News – Flanked by the Smiths Falls Legion Colour Party, Capt. Ret’d Medric Cousineau takes a moment to attend to his service dog Thai who has reacted to a change in his emotions and is alerting him to pay attention, during his visit to the Smiths Falls Cenotaph, on Sunday Sept 15. This was day 47 of his 50-day walk to sanity, raising funds for Paws Fur Thought.
The Smiths Falls Bears split weekend games. — Page SF18
By HOWAIDA SOROUR hsorour@perfprint.ca
News – It’s been in the works for several years but the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) has now been released and passed by council. The plan itself is really just the culmination of the Downtown Revitalization Task Force’s recommendations according to Bob Cheetham, director of economic development for the Town of Smiths Falls. “It’s about creating the necessary environment to revitalize the downtown core,” said Coun. Chris Cummings. The idea behind a CIP is to offer various incentive programs that help leverage private investment from individuals and businesses to improve a designated area of a town. This CIP
has been developed to work in conjunction with the Downtown Revitalization and Waterfront Integration Master Plans. “It’s a far reaching plan that’s going to assist our downtown to grow,” said Coun. Jay Brennan. The area is consistent with the boundary of the Core Area defined in the Town’s Official Plan with the exception of the high density residential lands on River Street, which the consultants recommended would be prime for intensification and redevelopment in conjunction with the Comfort Inn lands. The Smiths Falls CIP includes a number of distinct programs ranging from facelifts to new developments. One program deals with facades, landscaping and signage improvements and could
offer matching grants for projects that significantly improve publicly visible facades. There are exceptions of course, but the program could offer as much as a 50 percent or up to $10,000 with specific minimums built in as well. “One of the things council will have to do in the budget process is decide if they can put money into the CIP to kick it off,” said Bob Cheetham, director economic development. With that in mind the CIP has been developed to give council the greatest amount of flexibility in terms of implementation possible. So council can opt to run one or two programs or it may decide to defer kick starting the CIP altogether if it is unable or unwilling to put funds into the CIP kitty. The various programs
developed by staff start small but get bigger depending on the funding available. For example there is a building improvement loan program that could also include some grants and a variety of repayment options for projects under $40,000. There’s a planning and building fee re-imbursement program designed to encourage new development in the designated area. There’s also a tax based redevelopment grant and a couple of Brownfield programs to encourage the productive and best use of waterfronts. Each program has a ceiling and a minimum investment requirement. “Developing this CIP is all stuff that came out of public consultation,” said Cummings. “If we’re serious about mapping
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News - Normand Beauchamp is the new fire chief for Smiths Falls, effective Oct. 7. The Town of Smiths Falls announced the successful appointment in a press release this week. “The Town of Smiths Falls is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Beauchamp as our new fire chief,” says Mayor Dennis Staples. “Our council looks forward to working with Normand as he assumes his duties with us.” Beauchamp began his career as a fire fighter in 1993 with the City of Joliette, Que. He later moved on to the Cities of PortCartier, Brownsburg-Chatham and Saint-Hippolyte, Que., before making a move to the City of Swift Current Saskatchewan as deputy fire chief. He was also an instructor at the Quebec Fire Academy for five years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Science consisting of studies in human resources, health and safety and fire prevention. He possesses a certificate in emergency operation management, the professional designation of chief fire officer, and fire service administration and leadership. He is currently completing a bachelor’s degree in Fire and Safety Studies.
New CIP opens the doors to downtown improvements
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The United Way campaign faces off in Leeds and Grenville. — Page SF7
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out the future and we really want to see sustainable development downtown, we’re likely to see tax increases to support it - and that just being pragmatic.” The CIP received unanimous approval from council on Monday, Sept. 16. “Now we need to submit it to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and they will share their comments on what they think should be tightened up or modified,” said Cheetham. From there it will be a key element for discussion at budget time according to Mayor Dennis Staples. “This plan has been a long time coming. It really sets us on the path to some improvement in the downtown core,” Cummings said. “My goal will be to support a large allocation to the CIP.”
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