Lawyer and property owner Joe Bisceglia answers questions regarding the Downtown Business Improvement Area after his presentation to City Council on Monday night.

City Council heard a presentation from a lawyer and property owner on Monday night about the state of the city’s downtown. Joe Bisceglia (bih-shell-yah) addressed concerns he had about the Downtown Association and a decision coming very soon on its future. He talked about how the downtown could better itself through greater dialogue and support from elsewhere in the city. Bisceglia added that a redefinition of the Downtown Business Improvement Area would be key to that improvement…

Bisceglia suggested that the downtown should also build on successful elements, such as the bike paths on Bay Street — even making Queen Street a two way street instead of a one way. These would be just a couple of the ideas aimed at encouraging commercial and residential sustainability and growth. A vote on the future of the Downtown Association is expected to be known sometime on Wednesday. Bisceglia also addressed about two main issues — the amount in levies members are paying are based on an old formula, which has resulted in some members describing the payments as ‘unfair’. Another issue is the Downtown Association’s lack of dialogue with other entities such as the Canal District, the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre and the Bridge Plaza Project…something Bisceglia hopes to see improve in the near future…

One example Bisceglia mentioned related to the Association’s lack of a voice for the downtown was money spent on promoting the Soo Greyhounds. More than 56 hundred dollars was spent on this in 2014 out of its 167 thousand dollar budget. Another 80 thousand went towards salaries. He’s hoping City Council will take a lead in encouraging the downtown to turn itself around. It appeared many members of council were on board with that idea — councillor Terry Sheehan said that council needs to ‘kick it up a notch’ regarding its support of the downtown core. Bisceglia says councillors mentioned the issue as part of their election platforms…

Bisceglia added that Sault Transit should even get involved in the form of a shuttle to bring visitors to various tourist sites in a redefined Downtown Business Improvement Area. Those sites might include the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre and the Ermatinger Clergue Old Stone House.