More than 1,200 participants from rural municipalities and organizations across Ontario will are heading to Toronto next week for the Rural Ontario Municipal Association.
This year’s conference theme of "Breaking New Ground has two North Shore mayors excited about future projects they want to see happen during their term as mayor.
During their delegations with the Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford on Jan. 23, economic development is at the top of the list.
“Some of the key components is dealing with local issues," Marathon Mayor Rick Dumas said in an interview this week.
"Those are specifically in a meeting with Minister Rickford. That’s to discuss the port authority where we’ve created a partnership with our neighbouring community Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation. We want to talk about looking at how we can look at the economic opportunities with the port, enhancing it and how to improve the dock location.”
The Town of Marathon and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on the development of a port in April 2022.
Both parties want to focus on developing a port authority. The proposed port would be built on the site of Marathon's former pulp mill, which closed in 2009.
Dumas also plans on speaking with Rickford about the possible funding opportunities from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.
Hornepayne Mayor Cheryl Fort is keen to discuss the future of the Hallmark Centre site with Rickford.
“We met with Minister Rickford and his team back in August at [the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference] and we started the conversation. It wasn’t something the council was really looking at doing at the time," she said. "It wasn’t something I ran on when I ran for mayor in 2018. It wasn’t one of my platform items, but I do see the need for it. Now in this new term, we are ready to tackle it.”
Fort said that while building itself can be redeveloped, her main conversation with the minister will centre around steps Hornepayne can take advantage of the site.
“We want to create a plan to not only demolish part of the mall in our community but to revitalize that area,” Fort said.
Fort acknowledged that there is no plan in place for developing that area, but prospects for investment into tearing down and redeveloping the Hallmark Centre site can yield new economic opportunities for the community.
That isn’t to say that the historic Hallmark Centre will be completely demolished. Through routine assessments of the building, Fort said that parts of the building are salvageable.
“For 30 years that was the centre of our community. Not only a mall but a community hub. I think part of the goal is to revitalize it, get community input, and keep some of that lustre of that old bygone days but revamp it for new so our community can use that space again,” Fort said.
The idea is the Hallmark Hotel will always be a part of the history of Hornepayne. However, Fort acknowledged that it is time to move forward and give that spot a new opportunity to flourish.
