Today, the Township of Esquimalt officially launched its public engagement process to gather input on ideas for the use of the McLoughlin Point Amenity Reserve Funds.
In January of 2017 the Capital Regional District (CRD) and the Township of Esquimalt came to an agreement on an amenities package associated with locating a wastewater treatment facility within the municipality at McLoughlin Point.
A one-time contribution of $17 million from the CRD will be used for capital projects in waterfront parks, recreation facilities and public safety facilities. The contribution—which is to be used within the next five years—will not be spent on projects outside of these categories.
Within this framework, the Township will be leading a comprehensive public engagement process over the next several months, beginning with an Ideas Fair in Council Chambers on Thursday, February 22, 2018 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“I very much look forward to seeing creative ideas from residents on the use of the funds within these categories,” said Mayor Barbara Desjardins. “This is a very robust engagement process; once completed we’ll be looking for diverse ideas that will benefit the entire community.”
In addition to the Ideas Fair, there will be two other opportunities to provide input in the first round of engagement, including Idea Walls located at the library, recreation centre and municipal hall, as well as an online questionnaire. These opportunities will be open until March 15.
A second round of community engagement occurring later in the spring will provide opportunities to review the themes and ideas that surfaced in round one. The full engagement process will run from February through July, 2018, and input on the use of the funds will be compiled and presented to the newly elected Township Council early in 2019.
Project details, including a backgrounder and a process timeline, are available at www.esquimalt.ca/engage.
Our event announcement for the February 22, 2018 Ideas Fair is posted here.
Visit our event page on Facebook!
