The City of Windsor is looking for public feedback on the Jackson Park Bandshell.
The city is hosting a public information centre on Thursday, April 25 to hear from residents on their thoughts and visions on the bandshell's future.
Ward 3 city councillor Renaldo Agostino says public engagement is important.
"It's nice to see that the public will have a chance to weigh in on what they would like to see down there and hopefully there's some costs associated with what people expect to see and hopefully we're able to put that all together, bring it back to council and make a decision within the next few months," says Agostino.
He says he's expecting a good turnout.
"What I'd like to see, is I'd like to see as many people as possible but I'd also like to see as many ideas as possible because usually it's just one group of people that show up those are the people that obviously care the most and that's great," says Agostino. "I'd like to see the entire public weigh in and see what they think and see if they got any ideas," says Agostino. "So this is a great opportunity and I'm happy to see it."
Earlier this year, council voted to have administration launch a formal tendering process to find out the actual cost of a bandshell study, setting an upward spending limit of $120,000.
Last November, council voted to hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study at a cost of $100,00, but the sole-sourced response indicated the study would cost upwards of $300,000.
Another issue surrounding the future of the bandshell involves access to the land directly adjacent to the site, the Windsor Stadium property that is owned by the Greater Essex County District School Board.
The feasibility study will also explore a land use agreement for the land use agreement to allow for the use of the Windsor Stadium lands adjacent to the bandshell property.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the bandshell hosted Emancipation Day celebrations that drew crowds for speeches from civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The public information centre will be held at the Optimist Community Centre on Ypres Avenue.
The first session runs from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.
The second session is set from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.