A community improvement plan for Southampton is going to have to wait.
Recently we told you that Saugeen Shores staff was going to bring forward a recommendation on the merits of undertaking a Community Improvement Plan for the core commercial and cultural areas of Southampton.
At a recent council meeting — staff said they were too busy to give the Southampton CIP its full attention at this time.
As a result council voted to put the plan on the back burner until next year when it will be re-visited.
Councillor Diane Huber, who represents Southampton ward, was hoping that they would move ahead sooner rather than later.
Huber says there is a lot of interest in making sure the downtown of Southampton remains vibrant.
She says business leaders are ready to step forward with ideas.
Huber says she understands the staff time availability and she’s confident the plan will get underway in the future.
She says she knows there’s a lot of interest downtown because merchants are already meeting regularly on their own to devleop marketing plans and are putting up their own money to beautify the area.
Staff may come back in the fall with a suggestion as to whether or not they can afford the time to develop the guidelines for a CIP for Southampton.
