By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
When it comes to securing upper-tier government funding for Chatham-Kent’s infrastructure projects and programs, being shovel-ready matters.
That’s the message council heard following a presentation by deputy chief administrative officer Dave Taylor to council recently, outlining the municipality’s new advocacy strategy.
According to Taylor, the goal of the new approach to procure funding from the province and federal government focuses on increased advocacy for C-K by strengthening relationships and improving grant applications.
Taylor said there are two main components to the 11-point strategy. One is to make sure senior-level decision makers are aware of C-K’s priorities; the other is to ensure grant applications have the “best chance” of success.
“No strategy is going to guarantee success but we can do work that is foundational to those applications,” Taylor told council.
He said C-K representatives have consistently heard from upper-level government officials that “shovel ready” projects have a competitive edge in the funding process, noting many applications are refused because projects aren’t far enough along in development.
Ideally, he said, the municipality should have one or two “shovel-ready” projects in each major potential funding area to ensure Chatham-Kent is prepared for grant programs that may be released.
However, Taylor added, there are costs associated with bringing a potential project to this level, noting that infrastructure-related funding bids will be guided by C-K’s master plans.
Base funding related to emergency services costs will be sought as well, as will funding for addictions and mental health responsibilities, and housing and homeless programs.
To assist with the process, council has approved s staff recommendation to allocate $50,000 towards specialized grant writing support to improve the municipality’s chance of scoring funding.
The advocacy support plan includes keeping council abreast of applications and projects currently in the pipeline.
