Molo Meeting elaboration

From Andrew Salkeld

The older generation and their desire to downsize. They want to move more to the centre of the village (not to Ottawa) and not have to maintain an acre or two or two hundred feet of snow shovelling (And I don't mean move to the Manoir - There is a period between 70 and 90 years of age when neither maintaining country estates nor selling all and moving into one room the Manoir hold much appeal. And lest there be any confusion, the new seniors housing being constructed on Sully Road is subsidized housing). The centre-village type of housing I am proposing for the older/active generation would appeal to younger citizens who are getting into families etc and not wanting all the car ferrying. I see a great future in this regard for example for extending the mobile home area (Elmdale and Burnside) and creating housing in the $150,000 to $250,000 range.

Re-zoning. Make the process at the Municipal Offices simpler and quicker. It now takes two years, for example, to have your land usage re-assigned from single dwelling to triplex.

Community Swimming Pool. A rectangular arrangement of docks in the river - off Geggie Park, say, linked to the shore by a short bridge, which has swimming on the inside and visiting boats moored along the outside. At one stroke and with a reasonable budget, we have a community pool and a welcoming spot for the boaters.

Water shortages for the houses and businesses on Valley Drive are well-known - even in the middle of the wettest summer in record. Also finding drinking water and having to dig 300 to 400 feet wells in the centre of the village is a major problem for new development. But yet we have a constant supply of fresh water running down the hill on Valley Drive. Another idea - How about diverting the fresh water at the source on Valley drive to the new Community Centre and having the community well there, as a feature ( even a small charge to fill a bottle).

We need to get 'real' about the costs of all our funky ideas. For every $1,000,000 of expense on improving the village, we will need to raise, either from taxes or grants, $1,000 from each of 1000 householders in the greater Wakefield area. Or we will need 500 new tax-paying residents (new houses) each paying $2,000 per annum in taxes to raise the same $1,000,000.

Lest we forget. We must not forget to continually thank and hold in high esteem those who volunteered and served on the PPU committee. Also remember that a committee member stood in at the last moment for the consultants, in order to produce the PPU recommendations and report that we have in our hands. It is a fine, high-class document for a tiny village! We have been talking and struggling with the idea of a refreshed and new Wakefield through the various PPU and Wakefield Ensemble initiatives for over ten years. In the meantime, citizens, thank heavens, have been getting on and improving our lives and our environment. There is still an awful lot to be said for this natural organic process of village development! Take care that we are not so much in love with our own potential image that we plan ourselves out of existence!