Welland seeing more investment through CIPs

City approves 22 application in 2017 for brownfield and health and wellness properties

Welland taxpayers are getting a good deal through the city’s community improvement programs (CIPs), Ward 2 Coun. David McLeod said Tuesday.

In 2017, the city approved 22 applications for CIPs in the Downtown Health and Wellness Cluster Project Area and Brownfield Project for a total of about $6.6 million in investments.

The brownfield CIPs are used to help pay for environmental assessments of mostly former industrial lands, while the Downtown Health and Wellness Cluster CIPs can cover urban and residential designs studies, and building and facade improvements.

During Tuesday’s council meeting, McLeod said with Welland and Niagara Region contributing some $236,000 in grants to those projects, the return on that investment would make sense to city taxpayers.

“There’s more and more investment,” he said, adding the programs are gaining more traction and that people are seeing change.

Ward 4 Coun. Tony DiMarco asked where funding for the programs was coming from and heard it’s part of the city’s annual operating budget.

“Some residents in the city do have a few questions and concerns as to why the money is being used in a certain area only. Other small businesses are asking for funding,” he said.

He said those businesses don’t fall in the downtown core.

“I think if we’re going to be shelling out taxpayers’ dollars they can be equally spent around the city.”

DiMarco asked if that would be something the city would see in the future.

Mayor Frank Campion said city staff could prepare a report on CIPs and relevant legislation for city council.

Ward 4 Coun. Pat Chiocchio said it was great to see 22 CIPs approved last year and added the programs help stimulate development in the community and revitalize the downtown core.

“It really helps our community.”

City treasurer Steve Zorbas said there were some unallocated funds in 2017 and that it is the city’s practice for those unspent funds to be put to future use in the CIPs.

Ward 6 Coun. Bonnie Fokkens said she is pleased to see the 22 CIPs approved by the city.

Her only concern, she said, is council has yet to see quarterly staff reports on the program, a requirement of the bylaw when the incentive programs were approved in 2016.

“We’re short on four reports,” she said.