Phase two of reno in motion
Village of Harrison Hot Springs council awarded Timbro Contracting the Esplanade Phase 2 Revitalization tender last Tuesday at the regular public meeting. They were chosen from six packages received (all compliant) by the Village, with their submitted cost of $726,764 plus $36,338 GST.
“Timbro did a good job on the first phase so I’d expect the same on the second and I think it’s always nice to go with somebody w’eve worked with before,” said Coun. John Buckley. “They seem to be a really good contractor.”
Coun. John Hansen also noted that a learning curve will not be an issue for the company, as would be the case with a new contractor.
Saving face with Facebook
Village council gave the go-ahead to staff to research a public engagement strategy that includes the use of social media, newspaper and the existing newsletter.
“As a small village, Harrison has always been a ripe environment for gossip and now with three Harrison Facebook pages with close to 1,000 members discussing Harrison issues, gossip and misinformation has moved up a level,” said Coun. Sonja Reyerse at last week’s meeting.
She added that many communities have such a strategy in place, and that occurrences like the coincidentally high number of staff changes in office can be misinterpreted as issues.
“People don’t understand that so I think we as council are losing a lot of credibility,” Reyerse said. “Residents are struggling to have faith in us because there’s all that misinformation out there.”
Coun. Hansen voiced his full support for the plan and added the suggestion of the possibility of quarterly town hall meetings.