John Chiocchio will have his fingers crossed Tuesday night as he works once again to bring forward the idea of a downtown advisory committee for Welland.

"I truly believe our downtown is on the cusp of a boom," the Ward 3 councillor said.

Tuesday night, he'll present a notice of motion calling forward the creation of the committee to be made up of mostly residents from across the community, not just the downtown.

It will be the second time he's brought forward the idea. He made a motion in December 2017 and that was referred back to city staff for a report.

"Staff thought there should be a sustainability committee for the whole city, not just the downtown," said Chiocchio.

In an interview Thursday, the councillor said he has an action plan laid out for the committee and may have a PowerPoint presentation to go along with it.

"I've spoken with a few people and they have given me some input," Chiocchio said, adding he has what the structure of the committee should be and who should be a part of it.

Though he thinks the downtown is on the cusp of a boom, he said it has lagged a bit behind other cities.

He cites Thorold's downtown as a place that a great vibe, culture and full of niche businesses.

"I think that can be created here. I think a committee would bring some really great idea to council and staff and we could see where we could go with that."

Chiocchio said the area he'd like to see covered by the committee includes King Street from Lincoln to East Main Street and the area of West Main to Prince Charles Drive.

Living in that area, he said, people can easily walk to Merritt Park for free music, Welland Market for all kinds of good, or head down to Merritt Island for a nature walk. There's the water, too, he added.

"We could have a vibrant downtown core . a great place to move. It could be a cool place once the vibe is happening."

He said the advisory committee would not be in conflict with Downtown BIA or overshadow the work it does. Instead, it could work with the BIA.

As for wanting mostly residents on the committee, Chiocchio said Welland residents have great ideas - as do relative newcomers to the city - as to what the downtown could look and feel like.

He said there are downtown advisory committees in places like Guelph, Kitchener and St. Catharines that have worked to change their downtown cores.

Tuesday's general committee meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Welland council chambers.

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Nathaniel.Johnson@niagaradailies.com

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