In preparation for the upcoming budget, Norfolk County council heard deputations from different groups funded in part by the county.
Jamie Gunn spoke first on behalf of Lynnwood Arts.
Lynnwood Arts has run March break and summer camp programming for children, hosted Indigenous art exhibits and programming, and more throughout 2022.
In 2023 they look forward to hosting the first Norfolk Studio Tour under their ownership, hosting more children and adult programming, and hosting four curated exhibits. They are asking for an additional $10,000 over last year’s budget, bringing their request to $60,000.
The Downtown Simcoe Business Improvement Area was represented by Brian Jones at the meeting.
The BIA spoke of their emphasis on beautifying the downtown, which includes removal of illegal dumping, cleaner streets, better lighting, and parking enforcement.
The Levy request remains the same as 2022 at $185,400, with an additional grant request of $14,000 for garbage removal.
SCOR, South central Ontario Region Economic Development Corporation, had an update for the group, presented by Kimberly Earls.
Among the projects linked to SCOR, Ride Norfolk was advocated for.
The membership fee for a municipality to join SCOR is $25,000.
Finally, Lisa Marr and Julie Kent spoke on behalf of the Norfolk County Public Library.
The library is asking for $174,300, with about $82,000 of that going to ensure they can meet contractual obligations, and $92,000 todays eliminating service disruptions to the community.
Council accepted all presentations as information and will use them as consideration while working on the 2023 budget.
The full meeting with each deputation can be found on the Norfolk County Council Youtube page.
Written by Ashley Taylor