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At the City Council meeting Monday night, a bid was accepted from Crosby Hanna & Associates for the development of a Downtown Revitalization Conceptual Plan. The plan will see an assessment of the downtown core, and develop concepts for the enhancement of the area. This will include comprehensive public consultation.
"Downtown revitalization is a pretty broad term to something that we're looking at, and I suppose it can be interpreted in a lot of ways, but at the end of the day, Weyburn's got a very nice downtown core that we can be very proud of," explained Councillor Jeff Richards. He noted Weyburn's core has a bit more character when compared to similar cities, but that doesn't mean there is no room for improvement.
"What we want to do is get very proactive about our downtown, and some of the key outcomes that we'll be looking for is - how do we boost pedestrian traffic downtown? Can we create some more social gathering spaces or can we increase commercial occupancy rates? Those kind of things," Richards added.
Richards stressed that hearing from not just residents and businesses downtown, but from the entire city will be important so their voices are heard, so that way the resulting report, which is expected by the end of the year, won't be the consultants telling Weyburn what they think is a great idea, but will be solving concerns and addressing opportunities brought forward by the community.
The report will focus on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Streets, from Coteau Avenue to Railway Avenue. This will include engaging with the current ownership of the City Centre Mall, which is on the western edge of the focus area.
The bid from Crosby Hanna & Associates came in at $70,908.78. The city will be responsible for half of the total cost of the project, with the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce and the Weyburn Economic Development Board providing 25 percent of the cost each.