Borough outlines strategic priorities after consultation
The biggest challenge as we move forward ... is the capacity of the taxpayer to pay.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro adopted a three-year strategic plan Monday. The plan centres its attention on finding ways to better create a sense of belonging in the borough, increasing quality of life, protecting the environment and encouraging commercial development.
In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, borough Mayor Jim Beis said the priorities outlined in the seven-page plan are the result of multiple public and administrative consultations over time.
A strategic plan functions as a sort of visionary road map, highlighting priorities and spelling out ultimate goals.
“Now, we have a template to keep us accountable,” Beis said. “It reflects what the community has asked us for over the years.”
Four out of 10 citizens in Pierrefonds-Roxboro are immigrants. Beis said developing a sense of community, “a sense of belonging,” is one of the borough’s priorities.
To that end, revitalizing certain core areas in the borough will be on the table for discussion. One such area is the Sunnybrooke district — a pocket of poverty near the border with Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
“We want to beautify the area and make it a more inviting destination,” Beis said.
Building up business in the vicinity of the Roxboro-Pierrefonds train station is another priority.
“We want to encourage local businesses to set up shop,” Beis said. “Having easy access to shops would help encourage people to stay local and to use modes of transportation other than their cars to do their errands.”
Beis said the transformation of the Port de Plaisance marina into a recreational hub — a project mentioned in the strategic plan — is already underway, as is the beef- ing up of the multi-use bike-path system that will offer better connections to schools and businesses. The Port de Plaisance marina is located off Lalande Blvd., west of Highway 13. The borough received funding for the project from Montreal’s 375th anniversary budget. It will be completed by the time celebrations begin in 2017.
Beis said one of the biggest priorities for the next three years is to get an indoor aquatic centre up and running.
“We are lacking an indoor aquatic facility,” Beis said. “It’s an important project.”
Any talk of budget or construction timeline at this point is premature. After the adoption of the strategic plan comes the analysis of each priority, followed by public consultations and cost analysis.
“The biggest challenge as we move forward with the strategic plan is the capacity of the taxpayer to pay,” Beis said. “How will we finance these projects without affecting taxes?”
Pierrefonds-Roxboro’s strategic plan ends with an ideal vision of what the borough could look like 15 years down the road.
It reads, in part: “The borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro will be recognized as a territory offering a protected natural environment and living environment that meet the needs of a young, multicultural and on-trend population.”