Honestly, the last thing I thought I was going to write about this week was the proposed community hub for downtown Chatham.
But, since I hadn’t attended the Oct. 21 meeting when council decided to take the next step forward on the proposal, I decided to take a quick peek at the video to see what the first few members of the public had to say during their deputations.
From the very first speaker, I was completely drawn into the presentations, and by about the halfway point I decided to use this week’s space to present a snippet from each of them.
I apologize in advance for any name misspellings as there are no printed meeting minutes that I could find.
Ashley Gilham, who spoke from her wheelchair, pleaded her case for improved accessibility options if the hub moves forward, or else, “I and people like me, will not be able to access not only the services, but the other agencies that are inside of it. I will no longer be able to come to council meetings. I will no longer feel like I will be able to give my input in my own community …”
Sheila Martin voiced her opposition, citing “lack of public engagement,” and asked, “Where is the business case? Do we even want a new civic centre?”
“I attended a local meeting where we had two per cent of the Ridgetown population show up and I couldn’t find anybody who was in favour,” said Mike Boyle, adding that concerns there were more focused on basic infrastructure needs.
Anna Carons said she had read the report which she called “very pretty, beautifully worded but we need to get past fancy pictures and words to what’s important.” She said only three councillors attended a recent town hall meeting in Wallaceburg. “I found out not one person in attendance was in favour this project, so I ask you, why are you doing this? Why are you spending our hard-earned money on this kind of project when there are more pressing, life-threatening projects,” like the........