Community stakeholders will get another chance to give feedback on the proposed Chatham-Kent Community Hub (CKCH) next week.
The municipality will hold its second of three Stakeholder Engagement Group (SEG) meetings on June 6, hoping to hear what the community wants to see should the Civic Centre, Chatham library, and Chatham-Kent Museum move to the Downtown Chatham Centre (DCC).
"The SEG meetings are being held to ensure that the lived and practiced experiences from community stakeholders are heard, considered, and reflected when designs for the proposed Chatham-Kent Community Hub are being developed," a release from the municipality said.
Members of the following groups have been invited to provide feedback on the draft concept design of the CKCH:
Chatham-Kent Arts & Culture Network
Historic Downtown Chatham BIA
Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce
CK Heritage Network
Chatham-Kent Community Leaders’ Cabinet
CKY – Chatham-Kent to the power of young people
Chatham-Kent Immigrant Advisory Group
Community Living Chatham-Kent
Ontario Genealogical Society
A third SEG meeting and a public information session are scheduled for later this summer. This is when the municipality hopes to refine the design plans to include the public feedback and finalize a cost estimate.
After that, the project will go back to Council for a decision on whether or not it will continue.
If approved, the next phase will entail finalizing the designs, tendering costs, construction procurement, and beginning construction.
The municipality bought the former Sears store at the DCC for $2.95 million, despite public dissent. It has yet to be determined whether it will be redeveloped into a community hub or if the municipality should spend tens of millions of dollars to renovate the existing Civic Centre.
