Chatham-Kent Council has made a big step forward towards revitalizing Wheatley's downtown.
During Monday's meeting, councillors approved the purchase of multiple properties within the evacuation zone that were deemed unsuitable for redevelopment.
The properties that were purchased include:
15 Erie Street North from Triwabi Enterprises Inc. for $94,000
19-23 Erie Street North from Maurice Raffoul for $120,000
27 Erie Street North from The Royal Canadian Legion, Wheatley (ONT. NO. 324) Branch for $1,238,900
29-33 Erie Street North from Veronica Ann Balkisson for $1,268,400
37 Erie Street North from 1486047 Ontario Ltd. for $795,000
The cost will be funded by the $3 million provincial grant for the Wheatley Emergency and supplemented by money from the strategic reserve.
Ward 1 Councillor Lauren Anderson asked CK administration, "Now that we see that there's purchases of buildings, when can we expect to see some movement there with buildings coming down?"
She was told that negotiations for buying more buildings within the evacuation zone are continuing and once those buildings have been purchased they can start the next phase. Ideally, buildings will start being demolished in late spring or early summer.
Before that happens, residents will be given a chance to retrieve any personal belongings and any dangerous substances, such as asbestos will need to be removed.
Following demolition, before anything new can be put up, the ground underneath any former buildings will need to be explored to see if there are any undiscovered wells.
Contractors and safety systems required to do those explorations are already being lined up by the municipality.
"Throughout this process, we have seen excellent improvements achieved through cooperation between Wheatley residents, municipal staff, and Provincial agencies," said Michael Duben, Chatham-Kent's Chief Administrative Officer.
"When we look towards Wheatley's future, the outlook is extremely positive," Duben added.
Through $280,000 of funding from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Chatham-Kent Fire and Rescue (CKFR) has purchased 1,000 multi-gas monitors.
Councillors were told that the first 500 monitors should arrive later this month. There will be a package put together to tell people how to go about how to apply for and receive the monitors. CKFR will also be going door-to-door to deliver the gas monitors to residents and businesses, starting from the original evacuation zone and working outward.
Council also approved the exploration of a bylaw that would also regulate deep excavations within the urban boundary of Wheatley.
The bylaw would stipulate that excavations from the surface to six metres down, which covers most work such as building a basement, wouldn't require any special permission. Anything that goes deeper than that would require permits and testing to go forward.
The regulations are meant to limit any new pathways for gas to reach the surface while still allowing building to take place in Wheatley.
There will be public consultation before a final bylaw is presented to Council for consideration and voting.
