HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-05-05, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005. PAGE 7.
Watford group delivers first impressions
By Jim Brown
Citizen staff'
The Maitland River is one of the
five outstanding features of the
Village of Brussels, according to a
group of six residents from Watford.
The six Watford-area residents
visited Brussels on April 1. as part of
an Ontario First Impressions
Community Exchange pilot project.
The results of that visit were made
public last Wednesday afternoon,
during a meeting of the Brussels
business group at the Mennonite
Community Church.
The river and its potential for the
future was one of the outstanding
features on their visit. Other features
included the animal carvings from
the old tree stumps; good recreation
facilities, especially the pool for a
potential beauty of the river and its
assets that was the most outstanding
feature of the visit, which lasted
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
First impressions
Twp. of Warwick councillor Wayne Morris, centre, presented
his first impressions of Brussels at a meeting of the
Brussels business group last Wednesday afternoon. He is
flanked by Huron East business growth and economic
development director Ralph Laviolette, left, and Huron East
mayor Joe Seili of Brussels. (Jim Brown photo)
community of this size; friendly,
loyal and kind people; and the
character of the downtown buildings
and their great potential.
According to Wayne Morris, was
one of the six Watford-area residents
who made the presentation, the
highlight of the river area with ideas
to bring in locals and tourists was an
area of potential opportunity
available to the community.
Other areas of opportunity were to
revitalize the downtown area, giving
travellers a reason to stop and the
municipality should visit the
municipal’s property standards
bylaw for improvement and enforce
them.
However, Morris said it was the
In his opening remarks, he said the
people of Brussels were open
hearted and were great to talk to.
As a result of taking a five-minute
drive through town, the visitors felt
the community was eye-catching it
and the storefronts looked attractive,
although many were vacant.
Morris indicated they were
impressed with the entrance signs
coming from the north and the south,
but were unable to locate any
welcome signs when coming from
the east and west.
When coming from the south, they
were greeted by service club
information; new homes, with all
homes being nicely landscaped and
well-kept; a good community sign;
Huronlea which makes a good first
impression and a main street that is
clean.
However, coming from the north,
a traveller would want to drive right
through as the entrance is drab, with
some areas being rundown.
However, the electronic sign was
well received and the river area was
flooded so it was really hard to tell
what the location was like.
When approaching the village
from the east, the group felt the
stockyards needed a sign although it
did look busy on the day they were
there. There were also no curbs or
gutters at the location.
Morris indicated the homes were
average, but they were well kept.
Approaching Brussels from the
west. Morris said they felt the nice
farm entrance showed the
community's roots, but felt some
colour was needed in the horticulture
park.
They felt the river would be a
beautiful area when the water level
went down.
He said the downtown area of
Brussels has a lot of potential.
Although they are obviously
hurting due to the situation in the
agricultural sector, Morris said the
stores that are open are very well
kept and those that are vacant should
have to be kept up to certain
standards. The architectural heritage
of the buildings downtown is also
well maintained.
“1 couldn’t locate a business
directory,” he said. “I think 1 found
one at the newspaper office.”
He suggested with a theme around
the downtown businesses, it would
be nice to get these vacant store to
open up again, especially since
many still have their interiors
reminiscent of the 1950s or 1960s.
They could then cater to the visitors
from the large urban centres who can
remember “what it used to be like”.
Another area that impressed the
visitors was the industrial park.
Not only was it well situated, but
the industries that were there were
clean and well-maintained. Morris
added they seemed to be leaning
towards the industries that had 20 to
30 employees rather than ones that
had a larger number of employees.
Any future growth in the area
would have to serve the immediate
area as Brussels is not on a major
transportation grid.
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While there were five positives
about Brussels. Morris said there
were also five major obstacles or
challenges facing the community.
These included convincing
investors to support the
community’s ideas for the future; a
new medical centre with a doctor
dentist and a pharmacy; attracting
new small businesses, requiring
better cell phone service and high
speed internet; 24/7 ambulance
service and stopping the village's
dependence on agriculture as much
for the future directions of the
growth of the community.
Morris said this program initiated
by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs
is a good one, but noted it should be
done later in the year, perhaps in
June.
He also felt some of the questions
should be reviewed as some can only
be answered with negatives and
others are not suitable for a
community with a population of
approximately 1,000.
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Continued from page 1
been the traditional heart of the
community with its civic spaces,
public squares, town halls, libraries
and meeting spaces, it is also a
record of local history in
architectural form, memorials and
monuments, - the entertainment
district and a residential area that is
also the face of the community
through civic pride.
Morris pointed out that 35 per
cent of the businesses are located
outside of the downtown core.
“Brussels is much like a
neighbourhood mall in a large urban
centre.” he said.
Ragetlie said there are five key
areas of main street revitalization
integration. These include
organization development, the
encouragement of economic
development, the guiding image of
physical development, marketing
and communication and the
addressing of social issues.
Following the presentations, the
residents decided the most
important item for downtown
revitalization is the use of the vacant
buildings for displays in the
windows. Other important items
would be walking trails and
improved signage.
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May 12th to June 30th, 2005
Where you the reader, will be asked to solve the case!
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What room did the murder take place in?
What was the weapon used in the murd&r?
Who is the murderer?
It is evening. Twelve acquaintances have all gathered at the home of Simone
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As Madame Devora is about to.begin the ceremony, the power goes out. There is
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Using fhe biographies of the characters present at the seance (that will be printed
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