It looks as though there is finally a plan for the former CBC building on Premier Drive in Corner Brook.
The building was sold in the fall of 2012, but has not yet been developed.
At the public meeting of Corner Brook city council Monday evening, council authorized staff to carry out a public consultation process regarding the rezoning of the area from its current designation of community service to general commercial.
The rezoning would accommodate the proposed construction of a new five-storey apartment building intended for the 55-plus age group.
The plans also call for the retrofitting of the CBC building for commercial uses, including pharmacy, walk-in clinic, gym/fitness area, small restaurant, spa/beauty parlour and home care concierge services.
The preliminary design of the project is still being reviewed by city staff, but that is expected to be completed by next month’s public meeting. That review must be done prior to the public consultation.
Council briefs:
• Snowmobile/ATV access into Corner Brook getting closer
CORNER BROOK
The City of Corner Brook has taken another step towards allowing snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles to have limited access within city limits.
The city took the third of fourth steps at council’s public meeting Monday by adopting an amendment to the municipal plan to bring existing trails in the Lundrigan Drive area into conformity with the plan.
The amendment is in conjunction with a Crown land application to expand a trail network south of Corner Brook.
No new trails are proposed right now, but the amendment will allow council to more easily condone future trail development.
The current amendment will require a public hearing, and the appointment of a commissioner to report on the hearing if necessary. The date for the hearing has not yet been set, but will be publicly advertised.
The fourth and final stage for the process will be to seek approval of the amendment from the provincial Department of Municipal Affairs and Environment.
• Stelman Flynn and Craig Borden to head up Corner Brook area tourism development committee
CORNER BROOK
Stelman Flynn and Craig Borden have been appointed co-chairs of the Strategic Tourism for Areas and Regions (STAR) committee.
The committee was formed last summer to develop a regional tourism plan for the Corner Brook, Bay of Islands and lower Humber Valley area.
The two local business owners will spearhead the effort to seek tourism feedback from local residents and the tourism industry to find ways to better market the area to the world.
The committee has set dates for a series of public sessions, though exact venues have not yet been determined.
There will be a meeting on the north shore of the Bay of Islands on Jan. 30, followed by one on the south shore the next day. One will take place in Corner Brook Feb. 5.
On Feb. 28, there will be a visualization and idea-generating session held.
• Corner Brook upping its IT game
CORNER BROOK
The City of Corner Brook is looking to upgrade its information technology capabilities by purchasing a new virtualization software package.
Virtualization uses software to help reduce the number of physical servicers required to handle the municipality’s data.
During Monday’s public meeting, city council awarded a contract to OnX Enterprise Solutions to provide the software, storage and servers at a cost of $79,163.
The amount if to be paid over a five-year period.
• Corner Brook purchasing new mass notification system
CORNER BROOK
The City of Corner Brook will soon have a new digital emergency notification system.
City council awarded a tender for the service Monday to CivicReady with a three-year contract totaling $24, 893.
Subscription to the mass notification system will enable the city to directly notify residents of emergency situations. It will also be used for non-emergency situations such as water outages, road closures, boil water advisories and so on.
The system can also be used to notify city staff of storm days, building closures or city work-related emergencies.
The Corner Brook Fire Department will also be able to use the system to call in off-duty firefighters when they are required.
