Hoping to put the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association more on council's radar, new president Mark Middleton is encouraging more lines of communication with councillors.
Middleton spoke to council Monday.
"I'm here on behalf of the 240-plus business owners with a simple message: we're here, I'm here, to work with the city for the betterment of our community, the downtown core," he said. "Virtually every successful, prospering community has a solid, vibrant downtown core. It's in our best interest to do what we can to enhance the experience of everyone who lives in our city."
The Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association plans to be at forefront of any and all discussions that pertain to the downtown core, such as the homeless shelter, downtown revitalization and crime prevention, Middleton told council.
"We're going to take an active role in what goes on in the city of Courtenay," he said. "That's not to say this is an 'out with the old, in with the new' kind of situation; we do have some new faces on our board, and with new faces comes new ideas and new energy."
"I want to reiterate that we're here to help," he added. "We realize it's in our best interest to take an active role in shaping the future of our downtown core and our community as a whole."
Middleton encouraged councillors to establish lines of communication with him to "get the job done."
Middleton told council that Fourth Street is "a bit of a concern" for the DCBIA.
"A growing number of our members from the Fourth Street area are feeling a bit left out," he said. "It's been nearly 15 years since we've spruced up Fourth Street. Sixth Street has gotten a bit of a facelift, but Fourth Street is a bit like our forgotten cousin. We've still got a stop sign being held in place by a rusted tire rim, and I just can't believe that's what anybody in here envisions our city to look like, let alone our downtown."
Middleton said he knows there has been some dialogue recently between Gina MacKay, a senior planner at the city, and Jorden Marshall, owner of Hot Chocolates and Cakebread Artisan Bakery, about the empty lot at the corner of Fifth Street and England Avenue where the Palace used to be, and he hopes some action will be taken.
"We're hoping to partner with the city and the property owner and pretty the place up a little bit," he said. "A yellow fence and weeds up to here is not what anybody in a city, let alone in our downtown core. The BIA has a little bit of money, so we're going to stop talking about it, and we're going to start doing some things about it, and hopefully with Gina's help and the property owner's help, we can get that place looking up to par."
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com
