By Adam Prudhomme
Staff Reporter
Greater Napanee council peered into the proverbial crystal ball during last night’s regular meeting as Glen Loo of St. Clement’s Group presented a draft of the town’s strategic plan.
Using statistics gathered by Lennox and Addington County as well as residents’ responses to a survey, the strategic plan attempted to project where the town is headed over the next 20 years.
“They asked us to look at how people in the community ranked (potential projects) in order of importance,” said Loo. “We have different processes we use to get through that.”
Loo says an initial list of 54 potential projects were whittled down to 19.
“Looking at those 19 things you have to ask yourself some questions,” said Loo. “What do the experts think Napanee is going to look like in 20 years? What do the people at Stats Canada think about the economic development? The second question you have to ask yourself is what kind of community do you want? What do you aspire to be?”
“The third question you have to ask is if that’s where you want to be, what are the priorities of the 19 different projects to get you there,” he continued. “The last thing you have to ask yourself is what’s it going to cost.”
Among those surveyed, the top priorities for those under the age of 18 (which made up 26 per cent of the total number surveyed) were a pool, a youth centre and physician recruitment. Of those who responded over the age of 18, doctor recruitment, a pool/community improvement plan and riverfront development were deemed most important.
Among the top projects on the wish list were extending the Cataraqui Trail, youth centre, on-going doctor recruitment, improvement of market square and development of a community improvement plan.
According to L&A County’s projections, the town’s population is expected to increase from 15,892 to 19,173 in 2036. The town is also projected to see better job growth than that of its surrounding communities, climbing from 7,243 jobs in 2016 to 8,953 by 2036.
“This was a project so we could be ready for grants or funding if there was any available,” said Mayor Gord Schermerhorn. “We’ve seen this happen over the years where we missed out funding for projects because we weren’t ready. This is a 20-year project so we’re not going to do this overnight.”