Corp Of St. George’s Town Hall On April 20

The Corporation of St. George’s Town Plan Steering Committee invites town residents and businesses to a special Town Hall to discuss plans to introduce new projects and programs on Thursday, April 20th saying the “Mayor and Executive will be present to discuss proposals and solicit feedback.”

Mayor George Dowling III stated, “I thank the Council, the Steering Committee, and our Town Planner for all their hard work and dedication to the process.” Everyone has been working behind the scenes to evaluate the needs and wants of the Town. Today, I am happy to present our vision for the Town.

“In the preliminary phase, we conducted a national survey to solicit feedback on how the public sees the Town. Additional work was done to evaluate the municipal needs that are uniquely positioned due to St. George’s historical status. Bermuda has one Town, and that place is where people live, earn a living, begin education, are entertained, and build a family. Therefore, the outcomes from the Town Plan have to accommodate a diverse set of goals.

“The Corporation of St. George’s began their Town planning prior to the pandemic. The process stalled while resources were focused on core services in and around the Town, and the administrative composition was reorganised to reflect market conditions at that time.

“The Corporation’s Penno’s Wharf Terminal was leased to the government and converted into a national testing and vaccination centre to serve the east end of the island. Meanwhile, the Council and the Office switched to virtual meetings. During that time, operations were disrupted by staff contracting the virus, who all recovered. Furthermore, the Town Plan was moved from the Council to a Steering Committee format to allow for strategic input from the social, retail, and development sectors.”

“The Corporation contracted the services of a professional town planner to guide the process and ensure that the Council and Steering Committee have appropriate oversight on key elements of planning,” Candy-Lee Foggo, Town Manager, adds.

“This process is carried out as needed to keep up with changes in the census, infrastructure improvements, and technological advancements. During this effort, we had to consider things that were not anticipated in the previous plan, such as retailers having to operate a hybrid bricks-and-click model, which changes foot traffic into the town and how they generate revenue and service residents and tourists; car electrification, which necessitates additional demand along with electricity ports at home and throughout the town; renewal power sources such as solar introduced across the heritage site; and an increasingly mature national population whose focus is on quality of life elements. Existing municipal services, such as water, sewage, business leases, housing rental services, and land use, necessitate ongoing monitoring and improvement and will be integrated into the new plan.”

• Event: Town Hall: Draft Town Plan Presentation
• Date: Thursday, April 20, 2023
• Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
• Location: Penno’s Wharf Terminal
• Parking: Tiger Bay

#StGeorges

Category: All