Clarksburg businesses ask town to help with pandemic recovery

The community of Clarksburg is hoping The Blue Mountains council will see fit to offer some financial assistance as the COVID-19 crisis continues to abate.

Sarah Fillion and Shawn McKinlay of the Clarksburg Village Association appeared as a delegation at council’s meeting on June 6 and said Clarksburg continues to recover from the pandemic and businesses there are anxious to move forward.

Fillion reported to council that the association recently surveyed its membership to get input on key issues in the village. She said a number of key priorities emerged including: increased parking, public washroom facilities, reducing traffic speeds, direction and wayfinding signage, a community board, general signage and overall beautification of the village.

Fillion said the association has limited resources and hopes to work with the town on making some of these needs become realities.

“These are all projects that are beyond our scope as a not-for-profit organization,” she said.

Members of council were happy with the presentation from Clarksburg and expressed interest in working together in the future.

Coun. Andrea Matrosovs encouraged the association to make a presentation to Grey County council. With County Road 13 running through the village, Grey County will have a role in addressing some of the speeding and parking issues.

Coun. Paula Hope said the town needed to be cognizant of the tough times small communities have had due to COVID-19.

“We should look very carefully at doing what we can to help Clarksburg. You’ve been through so much over the past two years,” said Hope. “As council, we need to support whatever we can do to help you grow your businesses.”

Coun. Jim Uram suggested the town look into establishing a BIA for Clarksburg.

“It provides some very interesting funding options that come from the province that would be very valuable for Clarksburg,” said Uram.

Coun. Rob Sampson said during the recent Blue Mountain Film Festival, a bus tour of various possible filming locations was organized for filmmakers at the event and Clarksburg was the second most popular potential location in the community.

“This is a great place for some potential film shoots,” said Sampson. “There was a lot of interest from the folks on that bus.”