Inspiring Rural Communities is a collection of stories from rural Ontario communities. It is inspired by people who see potential in their home towns and are eager to share their experiences

Making Downtown Viable

Ingersoll- "Something good is happening in Ingersoll," says Gord Lesser, President of the town's Business Improvement Area and a partner in Lesser Brothers. The historic town has joined a growing list of municipalities that want their downtown to be a centrepiece of community activity and pride. Communities across Ontario can learn much from Ingersoll's initiative to revitalize their core.

According to Peter Rigby, the town's Economic Development Director, "people are becoming very positive about what we're doing and what the results are going to be." Downtown beautification and the new Thames Centre are central to the town's strategic plan for rejuvenating the centre-of-town.

Two years of planning went into the creation of a comprehensive strategic plan before physical changes began in the town. Their plan outlines nine specific goals with both short-term and long-term measurable objectives. For people anxious to get on with the endeavour, planning can be tedious but Rigby believes it essential to "bind the community as a whole and not just council and a few people." This road map allowed time for the Ingersoll residents to "buy-in" to the plan. Monitoring and implementation is much easier because of the plan.

Beautification was the first objective of the plan. The community replaced conventional street lighting with replica Victorian lamp posts to complement the downtown's turn-of-the-century architecture. The shorter lamp posts are seasonally decorated. Overhead wires have been buried wherever possible.

Creative Arts Centre volunteers have been asked to decorate upper storey windows with mural screens that show well from the street. Ann Campbell of the Chamber of Commerce notes that "several merchants are getting started too and we look forward to many storefront improvements."

The second milestone in Ingersoll's plan is the Thames Centre. The former elementary school has become a community asset in the downtown. It has a diverse clientele. The Fusion Youth Centre is a town-run facility in the Centre offering sports and entertainment for youth. The Victorian Order of Nurses work from the Thames Centre and so do Oxford Child & Youth Services, Craigwood Youth Services, the Board of Health and town police. The Centre's director, Lisa Longworth, says the extensive partnerships are essential to the success of the Centre. "Not only the funding partnership, but the services offered here are also a partnership. I am so excited about it. I'd like to share what we learned from Ingersoll's youth initiatives with other communities."

Education and mentoring are key components of the Fusion Youth Centre, while sports and entertainment are vital drawing cards in the mix which attracts teenagers to the busy centre after school. Fusion also boasts a Youth Technology Learning Centre where the local CAMI-Suzuki car plant will be introducing robotics classes to teenagers.

Homework help is offered at Fusion. The Junior Achievement program, with support of local business owners, offers courses in owning and operating businesses. Even a local chef who runs a restaurant at the Fusion Centre has an unconventional approach to helping the kids. He teaches them how to cook their own meals.

Oxford Child and Youth Services, a youth counselling service, chose to relocate to the Thames Centre so youth could more easily access their services. Executive Director, Kevin Clouthier, says, "we want to be where the youth are and part of the community. The opportunity to engage in collaborative work with other service providers has made the move a very positive experience."

The Victorian Order of Nurses also brought innovations to the Thames Centre. They conceived and built an enclosed, secure walkway for dementia clients participating in day programs so unsupervised walks are possible.

The seed money for Ingersoll's efforts came about jointly. There is community money and it has been matched with a grant from the Ontario government's R.E.D. program which stands for Rural Economic Development. "Local residents know what will make their municipality better," says Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "The McGuinty government is there to offer funding and staff expertise to help them meet their goals."

Life-long downtown merchant Lloyd Alter says he's "optimistic that what we have started is the right thing." His family first set up shop in 1930. He has seen a lot of changes, and plans on being around to see Ingersoll's downtown prosper.

For more information about Ingersoll's downtown projects, contact Peter Rigby at prigby@ingersoll.ca. For more information about the Rural Economic Development program which partnered with the Town of Ingersoll, please contact the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs at 1-888-588-4111 or www.ontario.ca/rural.

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