Officials with the Wheatley Task Force and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent are looking for feedback on plans for a new park in Downtown Wheatley.
The concept designs were unveiled on Saturday at a special event called "Wheatley Waves Forward".
The plan is to set up the park at the site of the explosion in 2021 that flattened buildings and rocked Wheatley's downtown core.
The Municipality said the concept plans are "the result of months of thoughtful collaboration" including input from "many passionate community members."
Ward 1 Councillor Lauren Anderson, who is also a Wheatley resident, told CK Mornings with Chris, Allanah & Matt on 94.3 CKSY that the Wheatley Waves Forward event and unveiling the plans for the new park are helping the community to move forward.
"I think one of the biggest things we have found over the last almost four years is that we've kind of been at this standstill where we kind of see a little bit of light and things kind of moved decently slowly for what we would've liked to see happen," said Anderson. "This brings us all to the same level and it brings us all up to speed on where we're at -- where we've come from -- and where we see our future going."
Economic Development Officer for Wheatley Kyra Knapp there is a short survey available online on the Let's Talk Chatham-Kent website you can fill out with an opportunity to share additional ideas as well as react to the plans that have been shared.
You can find that survey by clicking here and it will be open until June 22.
Knapp said the concepts are the result of over a year's worth of community consultations.
"Overwhelmingly, the community said they wanted to see a really well-programmed and inclusive, safe, vibrant green space, so that was perfect," said Knapp. "And then the report from the technical experts recommended not having any permanent structures."
The plans that were shared on the weekend are only conceptual at this point and there are still several other steps including detailing and formal approvals that are required.
Knapp said before construction can start, they still need to do some monitoring at the site, which could take several months.
She said after that, they will need to get from a conceptual design to construction documents and then put out a tender. They also need to work on securing funding for the project but have secured $1 million from the province so far.
