Posted Aug 8, 2013, 5:36 AM
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Culture and youth funding top Ward 2 community budget plans
YourHamiltonBiz.com
By Saira Peesker
A $112,000 reserve to develop a multicultural community centre, $50,000 for the NGen Youth Centre and a $20,000 grant for a multicultural festival are getting big support from Ward 2 residents as they prepare their first participatory budget.
The ward has been designated $1 million to spend on local projects. For the first time ever, that money will be allocated by the residents, using a multi-tiered suggestion process followed by a vote the last weekend of August.
On Wednesday night, residents will meet in eight different halls in the ward to go over a shortlist of ideas, chosen by a panel of delegates they elected.
The panel looked at 56 proposals from around the ward, and narrowed them based on how well they contribute to “human development,” with an eye on spreading the money out throughout the area. They were posted on the participatory budget website on Tuesday.
Twenty projects received unanimous approval from the panel and will be noted as recommended options on the ballot, but the individual community assemblies may also choose to add additional proposals to bring to the ward vote.
The multicultural festival, community centre and youth centre received the panel’s highest scores. The 17 other proposals, in order of their scores on the panel’s rating system, were:
Three Community Gardens ($18,000)
Outdoor Community Oven ($15,000)
Pilot Project for a Chinese Garden ($15,000)
Beasley Community Centre Kitchen Renovation ($22,600)
Grant for Hamilton Victory Gardens ($3,500)
Pilot Project for a Network of “Urban Trail” Alleyways ($230,000)
Grant for Adopt-a-Park – Fund for Flowers ($9,000)
Upgrades to the Beasley Skateboard Park ($80,000)
Grants for Three Outreach Workers ($39,000)
Ten Poster Kiosks – Message Boards ($20,000)
Safe Rail Trail Access at Victoria Ave. S. ($100,000)
Grant for Food4Kids ($40,000)
Twenty-Six Public Benches ($52,000)
Beautification of James St. S. ($10,000)
Crosswalk at Hunter St. W. and MacNab St. S. ($125,000)
No Smoking Signs in Parks ($2,000)
Ten Solar-Powered Trash Compactors ($44,000)
Coun. Jason Farr said he’s thrilled by the interest in the process so far, but declined to say which proposals he’d heard the most support for.
“I can’t tell you one way or another what looks like a front runner, or what may happen,” he said. “We want to let the folks decide.”
Meanwhile, the Participatory Budgeting Office is taking applications for the following short-term positions:
Deputy Returning Officer
Poll Clerk
Data Entry Technician
There are 11 positions in each category available, and while they are not high paying jobs, Farr said he’s hoping they appeal to people who have worked on elections before.
“Like any election, a lot of folks apply for this vote-day work and many of them don’t have previous experience,” he said. “We want somebody with experience but if not, we’ll do our best.”
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