The Town of The Blue Mountains will provide the Thornbury BIA with $20,000 for summer flower watering.
At its committee of the whole budget meeting on Feb. 3, council made the decision to provide its support for flower watering after receiving a delegation from BIA Chair Sarah Beveridge.
In her presentation and in a letter to council, Beveridge said the town has recently provided financial support for the flower watering in recognition of the struggles the business community faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the approval, the town will provide staff and equipment to water the hanging baskets in the downtown core.
“Last year, council provided support in the form of a $20,000 subsidy of parks and trails charges to assist with this expense. As our businesses and membership weathered the financial strain of the pandemic, the board and members were thankful for this support,” Beveridge said in her letter. “Now in the current economic climate, many are facing rising inflation costs, and raised rents. Our goal this year is to continue to keep the BIA levy below $1,000 per member; to assist our local businesses (BIA members) who have had to adapt and struggle now return to a more regular routine in 2023.”
Director of Community Services Ryan Gibbons said town staff fully supported the request from the BIA.
“We can support this recognizing it is a challenging time coming out of the pandemic,” said Gibbons.
Later in the meeting, council voted unanimously to include the flower watering subsidy in the budget for 2023.
