HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-12-06, Page 7THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1989. PAGE 7.
Brussels residents feel village needs facelift
Discovering and addressing the
major strengths and weaknesses of
Brussels is the first plan of action
for the Brussels, Morris and Grey
Industrial Committee in their de
velopment strategy. This was de
cided at a meeting of the group on
November 28, with Wayne Cald
well, Senior planner with Huron
County Planning and Development
who is advising the committee and
steering them in the right direc
tion.
Keith Mulvey, chairman of the
committee explained that a
questionnaire will be distributed to
the 12 members asking them to
address what they feel are the
primary strengths and weaknesses
of Brussels. These will in turn be
brought to a meeting on December
12 and the committee will select
four or five to receive top priority.
This past summer the village of
Brussels distributed a survey to
local businesses and householders
in the hopes of compiling informa
tion that will aid in economic
development in the community.
In order to prepare the back
ground information meetings were
held with the staff of Huron County
Department of Planning and De
velopment. The framework was
established outlining various cate
gories of information which needed
to be collected and there was
discussion of the information sour
ces and contacts necessary to
gather this information.
An impressive 80 per cent re
sponded to the survey which Mr.
Mulvey said was excellent.
“People faithfully went through
those surveys and gave us useful
information.”
Mr. Mulvey believes that the
good response may well have been
due to the fact that the survey was
distributed by volunteers. “It was
an effective way to handle it,” he
said. “When people knew someone
would be picking it up personally, |(
they made a conscious effort to fill y
it out.” *
In commenting on the survey’s M
findings Mr. Mulvey says, “There A
were a lot of really good points K
brought up. The major concern
addressed in the business survey fcs.
sore”. Suggestions to improve the
downtown include: sidewalk repair,
tree and flower planning, garbage
receptacle, the creation of a small
park in the vacant lot site and the
repair or demolition of derelict
buildings like Export Packers and
the old Garniss shop.
Deputy-Clerk Donna White stat
ed that while this is an important
issue it is difficult for the village to
solve. “A lot of these buildings are
privately owned and all we can ask
them (the owners) to do are wavs to
ensure safety. We can’t make them
put a business there,” she said.
Mr. Mulvey agreed that, yes, it
can be a difficult situation, but the
committee will look at ways to seek
improvements.
I
flI
was a need for improvements to the
store fronts.”
The condition of the downtown
core and the village sidewalks are a
common concern for many in
Brussels, according to the survey.
Residents feel that presently the
physical appearance of many of the
downtown structures is “an
Beating odds
a fading hope
Continued from page 4
you’re never likely to see
lifetime of working for the
pany.
Count me as a small, backward,
stubborn rebel but I don’t think it’s
either good or acceptable that we
lose the sense that the guy can start
at the bottom and work his way up.
I think making people feel they’re
destined to work for the company
for the rest of their lives is our
modern equivalent of the serfdom
of the old-world nations that drove
our ancestors to come here in the
first place. It seems to me that if
the individual feels overwhelmed
by the immense size of the system,
then the system is wrong because
the system should be shaped to
serve the people, not the people for
the system.
So I cheer for the few examples
left of the underdog winning. I
cheer for the upstart Saskatchewan
Roughriders who probably should
n’t have been in that Grey Cup
game in the first place. They
represent the fading hope that you
can really beat the odds. The
football field may soon be the only
place left it can happen.
eye-
a
com-
in
S’
The residential survey showed
that the major area of improvement
that most felt was needed was in
housing. “Ninety-five percent of
the household surveys answered
felt that there is a need for
additional housing particularly in
the form of apartments and rental
units.
Other impressions received as a
result of the surveys were summar
ized in a booklet available to the
public. It was discovered that most
residents and businesses in Brus
sels feel that industry is needed to
keep the labour force in town. This
would also attract more people to
the village and stimulate business
activity. For the most part, people
would like to see the village
increase in population however,
not so much that it would be
comparable in size to Wingham or
Listowel.
There is a desire for Brussels to
generate development on its own
terms. Small, clean industry sup
ports the desire of most residents
to keep Brussels a “Quiet rural
community” and also perceptions
that larger developments will strain
both local industrial and commun
ity services.
The survey showed some disa
greement as to the approach of
economic development efforts.
While it was the feeling of some
that industry is the way to achieve
population growth, conversely oth
ers feel that attracting more people
will in time create economic
growth. The latter stresses residen
tial development.
Both business and household
survey findings suggest opportuni
ties and needs for certain business
es and services in Brussels. These
include a financial institution, shoe
store, department store and furni
ture store.
The Logan Mill near the dam was
mentioned in the survey by many
as a prime area for development.
Suggstions for the conversion of
the mill into restaurant, museum or
Continued on page 17
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