Richmond Municipal staff will compile a report about the new look for the Cape Breton side of the Canso Causeway.
During last night’s regular monthly meeting of Richmond Municipal Council, Warden Amanda Mombourquette said the Strait of Canso Gateway Project is entering the next stage.
While the municipality has submitted a letter of support for the project, the warden said this
Richmond County Warden Amanda Mombourquette (contributed)
new phase involves preparing a multi-faceted, multi-year plan. She said the Cape Breton Partnership has taken a leadership role by seeking a draft Request for Proposals seeking a multi-disciplinary consultant team to prepare a development strategy.
Before issuing the RFP, Mombourquette said the CBP is looking for funding commitment from stakeholders and partners to cover the $50,000 to $70,000 strategy. While the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has committed half, up to $35,000, she said the partnership is asking for $5,000 each from municipalities.
The Town of Port Hawkesbury and Destination Cape Breton Association gave their share, and Victoria and Inverness counties gave a verbal agreement. The warden said First Nations on Unama’ki have been asked for a single contribution, and the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is also being approached later this week.
While all councillors support the project, all wondered where that money would come from in their already tight budget.
The warden said time is getting tight since the partnership is getting ready to issue the RFP and ACOA has committed the funding for this fiscal year.
CAO Don Marchand said he will discuss this funding contribution with CFO Jason Martell, and hopes to update council at the October meeting.