Well, if all goes to plan, we the taxpayers of Chatham-Kent will soon be the owners of the old Sears building and loading dock in the Downtown Chatham Centre.

Yes, you might not ever have had that on your wish list, but unfortunately, it’s not up to you, or the people who showed up to air their concerns about the move at the Jan. 15 council meeting.

Despite a range of opposition from various sectors of the municipality, council voted 11-5 in favour of buying that portion of the mall.

On the bright side, the new Chatham-Kent Community Hub – though a far cry from what was originally presented as a spectacular Imagine Chatham-Kent (ICK) redevelopment – is tentatively slated to be finished by August of 2026.

If I was a sitting member of council, I’d be a little nervous about that completion date, what with a municipal election in October of 2026, but that’s a discussion for another time!

For now, we as taxpayers will just have to take it on the chin now that council has agreed to spend almost $3 million on a building that has been valued at $630,000.

However, in a report to council,........

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