The next phase of the Cottam Improvement Plan is underway.
Kingsville Council has approved funding for improvements to Cottam Rotary Park as part of the much broader Downtown Cottam Community Improvement Plan.
More than $135,000 in upgrades to equipment, lighting, sports fields, and walking paths have been identified as priorities over the next three-years in survey results gathered by the town.
Mayor Nelson Santos tells AM800 News at least a couple items residents expressed interest in will get underway immediately with $20,000 worth of upgrades to Cottam Rotary Park.
"An opportunity to get it prepared for the coming holiday season, so we're looking at some infrastructure with lights and enhancements right in Cottam Rotary Park as noted by the public," he says.
Council had previously laid out the plan, but Santos says there wasn't a clear direction until the community got involved.
"This is our administration and our community coming together to try and find some quick wins and great improvements that they can start to see right away. Basically within weeks of the first approval," says Santos.
He says keeping Cottam's identity is important to the municipality.
"It's something that we're embracing as part of our overall strategy in terms of improving our communities within the municipality and certainly to continue to recognize the Cottam, Ruthven and the old Kingsville after amalgamation," he says. "It's all part of trying to enhance that living style and joy of living in our municipalities."
The report outlines several short-term projects tapping into provincial funding from 2018 to 2021.
Those include improvements to benches and tables, the gazebo and additional Christmas displays in 2019 at a cost of $40,000, $10,000 in additional holiday improvements by 2020, and $65,000 towards new playground equipment by 2021.
Each item would need to be approved as part of the budget process moving forward, according to the report.