With the economy crashing and local stores closing, City Council met to hear presentations on how to revitalize the downtown core and waterfront.
The Wood Buffalo Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee proposed a park that would be adjacent to Franklin Avenue and Main Street.
READ MORE: Re-energizing downtown the focus of Council
Councillor Mike Allen holds the downtown core close to his heart as his business, Campbell’s Music, was formally located on Franklin Avenue.
“I am personally very close to the downtown area that was in discuss today because I was one of the property owners that was expropriated and from that point on I thought, well in fact I expected that there would be some significant commercial development there.”
Initially when Allen say the recommendations for the park he thought that wasn’t the purpose for what he deems as a central business district.
“Now having see the presentation and asking a few questions, I do now support the potential of having the beginning of a beautification process because we really need to do that as part of our revitalization downtown and hopefully see that spur some other commercial development.”
For Allen what ultimately changed his mind was what the park could look like.
The entire proposed lot will not be made into a green space.
Administration shared photos of proposed ideas for the park including seasonal landscaping, outdoor furniture, lighting, public art installations, and recreational activities.
“I think we are all just waiting for something to happen in that downtown core, I think our residents are waiting for something to happen and I think were looking for some exciting things ahead that’s really going to help redevelop the downtown.”
Council approved the Wood Buffalo Downtown Advisory Committees recommendation for the park with an 8-3 vote. Mayor Don Scott and Councillors Keith McGrath and Claris Voyageur were in opposition.
“When I was running in the election a lot of people told me they wanted something that would drive people downtown so that would be something significant, the number one idea that I heard over and over again and that came out of an earlier report was having a theatre downtown,” said Mayor Scott.
He recognized that there is now a newer movie theatre in Eagle Ridge that the community highly supports and thinks we could use another one.
READ MORE: Landmark Cinemas showed 117 movies in one year
“That would have been the ideal thing from my perspective but we have a democracy and that didn’t prevail tonight, the park succeed in the vote even though I didn’t support it personally… I am fully behind the decision of the group.”
He is excited about the upcoming opportunities for input into the park.
“I have a lot of ideas that I will be throwing out myself, so many people have talked to me about having an outdoor pool, that might be something we want to have in that park… and a lot of people are talking about the lighting possibilities so there is going to be a lot of good things happening now that we have a direction we could really make the most out of it.”
The public will be welcome to attend a workshop to help create a design charrette for the park that will review possible ideas, sketches and visual aids.
Waterfront event space
When it comes to the lower town site of Fort McMurray the waterfront is something Mayor Scott sees as a huge highlight when it comes to revitalization.
“The waterfront is really the jewel of this region… I want to see our waterfront continue to improve and improve, it’s going to be a centrepiece of this region for a long time coming, it’s where people are going to congregate downtown so I’m excited to see any improvement we can make to that area.”
Council unanimously approved the Wood Buffalo Waterfront Advisory Committees recommendation for a permanent event space in Snye Point Park.
“I think it’s a great idea, its going to look good,” said Mayor Scott.
The space would include a concrete pad with permanent washrooms and power hookups for reoccurring events.
Liana Wheeldon, chair of the Waterfront Committee says they hoping that having those permanent structures in place would allow more events like the Athabasca Tribal Council Cultural Festival and Rib Fest to happen with less impact on the environment
She also thinks having more permanent structures within the space would encourage more families to spend time at the waterfront.
“As an individual or as a family with children, if you are at the waterfront and someone needs to use the restroom, you leave, so it definitely is a draw to have permanent structure there for people to be able to engage with the waterfront space.”
The Waterfront Advisory Committee will move forward with their recommendation and will also hold a public design charrette workshop to determine the exact location and scope of the project.
