A beach volleyball court, a water fountain, or ball park bleachers are among the ideas residents of two London neighbourhoods can choose from when they decide how to spent $30,000 of city money.
From June to October, residents of Ward 13 and the Medway-area, which includes a portion of Ward 6 and Ward 7, submitted ideas for the Neighbourhood Decision Making pilot project. The two areas were granted $15,000 each from the city to spend on community enhancements.
Having been deemed feasible by city staff, the submitted ideas are now up for a vote to decide which ones the city will move forward with.
"It generated a lot of excitement and the ideas are phenomenal. There are a lot of ideas here that, even if they don't end up winning the vote, are good ideas for the city to consider doing later," says Councillor Josh Morgan, who championed the pilot project. "We released a lot of potential from residents. We gave them an opportunity to share some really great ideas, we certainly wouldn't have come up with these on our own."
The Medway-area has a total of 19 ideas to choose from, including new benches at Jaycee Park, a neighbourhood amenities sign in Maple Grove Park, and a beach volleyball court in Chesham Heights.
The Hyde Park Business Association and a Grade 1 class are among the groups that submitted ideas for the pilot project.
Residents casting ballots will be able to vote for their three favourite ideas.
"When they come into the balloting station they will be able to review information about the projects and then they will be able to support up to three," says Councillor Morgan. "We will tally the votes and the idea with the most will be the one we do first. After that if there is still money left from the $15,000 allocation then we will go to the next project on the list."
Medway residents will be able to cast their vote on October 28 from 9am-6pm at the Sherwood Branch of the London Public Library or on October 29 from 10am - 2pm at Sir Frederick Banting High School. The winning proposal will be announced at a community meeting immediately following the vote at Banting.
Ward 13 residents will cast their ballots on November 5. A time and location has yet to be announced.