Chatham Coun. Alysson Storey wants to make sure the public has another chance to provide input about the Community Hub project proposed for downtown Chatham.
At the Sept. 23 council meeting, Storey brought forward a motion to be voted on Oct. 7 that would allow deputations at the Oct. 21 meeting prior to council’s vote.
The vote will follow a report from administration on the proposal to shift municipal operations to the former Sears building from the Civic Centre, Chatham library and museum.
As it stands, the municipality is not allowing any deputations on the night of the vote and that’s not sitting well with Storey. Instead, the public is being asked to email letters to council@chatham-kent.ca.
“People come and tell you things you don’t want to hear,” Storey said of the motion. “The citizens have a right to respectfully engage with their elected officials. That’s democracy. This is shaping up to be one of the most expensive proposals in our community’s history. Our fellow citizens should be able to speak directly to their elected officials about it.”
Earlier this year, council approved the purchase of the old Sears building for just under $3 million. Under what was dubbed the Imagine Chatham-Kent project, the building is to be revamped into a public space that will house the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre, the Chatham-Kent Public Library and the Chatham-Kent Museum/Cultural Centre.
When it comes to what it will cost, officials are factoring in selling Chatham-Kent’s King Street headquarters and the centennial library building on Queen Street.
The Civic Centre is badly in need of fixing. Previous C-K councils didn’t spend the money to maintain the building and the structure is in need of $37 million in upgrades, which include a new HVAC system.
Since the inception of the hub project, three public information meetings have been held, which were attended by more than 300 people. Two online Let’s Talk CK surveys were also conducted, eliciting more than 1,000 responses.
The municipality has also held three meetings with stakeholder groups, including officials from the library board, as well as other committees, including accessibility, museums and the Thames Art Gallery.
The full report, with links to all related materials, will appear on the Let’s Talk CK page Oct 7. The page can be found at letstalkchatham-kent.ca/community-hub.
