Pop-ups pop up for discussion at council

Belleville city council will discuss $75,000 in capital spending to invest in things such as walkways, seating, lighting and sound systems for the Pop-Ups on the Bay initiative in the new year.

Meanwhile Councillor Bill Sandison thought the pop-ups project had grown enough that it should be administered by the Recreation, Culture, and Community Services department and not by the Economic and Destination Development Committee.

However, chair of the  Economic and Destination Development Committee Councillor Sean Kelly said the committee already had built important relationships, adding that flooding and the pandemic had slowed pop-ups down in the past.

“If we see a shift in Ontario in March (pandemic restrictions lifted) and that gives us enough time to really work for that 13 or 14 weeks over the course of the summer I can really see 2022 being completely different.”

Mayor Mitch Panciuk said that moving pop-ups to the Recreation, Culture, and Community Services department wasn’t a bad idea but not at this time, especially without a permanent director in place in that department after the retirement of Mark Fluhrer.

Manager of Economic Development and Strategic Initiatives Karen Poste told council that Pop-ups on the Bay was an economic development project in that it gave start-up businesses a chance to test their products perhaps leading to the creation of a permanent business in the community.

Also in the works in the off-season is a formal business plan to guide changes to Pop-Ups on the Bay in coming seasons.