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Minto visitors get good first impression of Ripley, Lucknow By Liz Dadson |
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The Villages of Ripley and Lucknow have great strengths and many opportunities. That's the word from Belinda Wick-Graham, economic development officer for the Town of Minto, who addressed Huron-Kinloss council at its meeting last night (Jan. 17). Minto and Huron-Kinloss were part of the First Impressions Community Exchange through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Six representatives from Minto visited Ripley and Lucknow, in cognito, last November, and brought their impressions to council last night. Meanwhile, six representatives from the township did the same on a visit to Minto last October and made their presentation to Minto council last week. Joining Wick-Graham on the visit to Huron-Kinloss were: student Mandy Hansen, councillor Ron Elliot, resident Elaine Elliot, resident and downtown property owner Barb Beiers, and realtor Marg Sorenson. They acted as residents who were shopping in the commercial core, people travelling through the area, and business people interested in opening a shop in that community. They spent three hours in each village. Their impression of Ripley was that it is a clean and inviting community, with mostly residential development and not too many retail stores. The focal point is the beautiful Lewis Park in the centre of the community. "We noticed a lot of vacancies in the downtown," said Wick-Graham. "But you have a good variety of places to shop for artisan items and the customer service was great." The municipal office is located in a beautiful historic building in the heart of Ripley, and the staff was of great assistance, said Wick-Graham. "The arena is in a good location, very clean inside, with lots of parking. The Ripley Fall Fair is well-known and the community slogan is the 'Hub of Huron'." She said initially that slogan was confusing because they knew they were in Bruce County, not Huron County. But it became clear once they realized that Huron-Kinloss consists of the former Huron Township, Kinloss Township and Lucknow. "At the restaurant, it was obvious we were outsiders," she said. "The community was smaller than we had originally expected. But it is the perfect place to stop and shop for artisan gifts, and you should expand on that." Wick-Graham said the residents were warm and friendly and have a positive attitude about their community. They like the small-town feel and the sense of security, and they like the proximity to the city and to cottages. She said the most outstanding feature of Ripley was Lewis Park, complete with the public washrooms and tree carvings. The other positives include the community branding (Hub of Huron) and the streetscape, recreation facilities, friendly, clean and quaint environment, and the restoration of the heritage buildings. The four major challenges, she said, are providing for a senior population, the cost to renovate older buildings, not enough commercial buildings. and no major industry and a small population from which to draw. The opportunities for Ripley are to promote:
It has a beautiful new fire hall, great customer service downtown, and a good variety of places to shop, she said. However, it has some confusing window displays, and the print material and signs need updating. Similar to Ripley, it is a bedroom community for the major industry in the area - Bruce Power. Lucknow's arena is in a good location and was very clean inside, with lots of parking, and it also has the tourism office there.
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 Belinda Wick-Graham of the Town of Minto addresses Huron-Kinloss council "We did not realize that Lucknow had such strong ties to a Scottish history," said Wick-Graham. "The people and the store owners were great to deal with, and overall, it is a very positive community. And it has an excellent bakery!" The five positive things about Lucknow were the friendly and knowledgeable people, the many recreation facilities, proximity to the lake and opportunity to stop traffic, abundance of apartment buildings and availability for seniors, and a good variety of retail. The major challenges are employment, the medical facility, locals shopping outside the community and retaining local business, limited entertainment or night life, and visually stimulating the downtown business with a facade and signage program. The four opportunities for Lucknow are:
From 2006-2008, Minto worked on a strategy to boost its image and improve its downtown and the local streetscape. With a downtown revitalization committee in place, Minto received a grant of $406,800 through the Rural Economic Development fund, to improve the downtown core and market and promote the Town of Minto. Twenty-four businesses signed onto the facade program, putting more than $86,000 into the businesses in the commercial core. Wick-Graham said there is lots more to do, such as establishing a Business Improvement Area (BIA), dealing with absentee owners in the downtown and getting realtors involved. Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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