Wiarton’s BIA will continue to operate, now that two people have stepped up to be on the board.
Earlier this month, (Sep. 3) Council was faced with the question of whether or not the BIA Board (Business Improvement Area) should be frozen for a year.
The board needs to have seven members, one of whom is a council member (Deputy Mayor Caleb Hull).
The board has recently had a couple of retirements, and a call for more members over the summer went unanswered.
At its September 3rd meeting, council expressed a reluctance to approve a staff proposed option to temporarily shut down the board that promotes and beautifies Wiarton’s downtown. They asked staff to put out another call for members. At that time, they had one person, Nathan Vascotto, who upon learning the Town was considering its options with the future of the BIA, expressed interest. Vascotto is the owner of Peninsula Plumbing and LakeHouse Bath+Kitchen.
Now, Cory Dobbin, who owns three buildings downtown area and owns Home By Design has stepped up.
Some work by the BIA you may have noticed this year in Wiarton includes hiring the McLaren Pipe and Drum band to play downtown on Saturdays, buy advertising (on two Bayshore Broadcasting stations) organize sidewalk showcases, buy flower baskets, put up seasonal decorations and other beautification and promotion activities.
Going forward, they intend to also consider the expansion of their BIA boundaries (which would need council approval), consider the possibility of associate memberships, and continue to work on their new strategic plan.
Deputy Mayor Hull said at Tuesday’s (Sep 17) Council meeting, “I just want to say how excited I am that these vacancies are filled,” adding “I just want to thank Nathan and Cory for joining, and I know that there were others that did take the time to consider applying, so I just want to thank them.”
Mayor Jay Kirkland added, “It’s nice to see people stepping up and also the people that have been there for a long term that are staying there. We appreciate it.” He added “It’s nice that the problem is solved and the BIA carries on because they are beneficial, in my opinion for main street Wiarton. They do a great job.”