Harbour Grace making progress on strategic plan goals, says McCarthy

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Harbour Grace council got an update last month on the progress of its 10-year strategic plan, which is not into year three.

The update came courtesy of Matthew McCarthy, the Town’s economic development officer.

The Town approved the plan, called Let Yourself In 2032, back in 2022. It addresses infrastructure, economic growth, social and cultural health, the environmental, public engagement, and regional collaboration.

On the progress side of the ledger, McCarthy counted in the completion of the Phase V upgrades to sewer, water, and paving on Harvey Street, which improved access to the community through Route 70, its main thoroughfare. 

The relocation of LeMarchant Street’s sanitary storm sewer was also completed. That enabled construction on the new Water Street Small Craft Harbours Wharf, a $6.2 million dollar project which, McCarthy said, will provide long-term economic benefits. LeMarchant Street also got water and sewer upgrades over the past year. 

Still on the subject of infrastructure, McCarthy said the upgraded lift station in Riverhead will help deliver water and sewer services to Harbour Grace South, and funding has been secured to complete the detailed designs for the Historic Laneways Walk, the second phase of the town’s Heritage District development plan. 

McCarthy said the town upgraded its website in 2023, which continues to improve communication with residents. And Harbour Grace has made strides towards inclusivity, adopting a five-year Accessibility Plan last year.

Under the banner of social and cultural health, McCarthy noted the strategic plan has a broad goal regarding seniors’ living, aiming to activate the resourcefulness and skills of the town’s seniors through programming and community development opportunities. As a result, the Town and volunteer community started Harbour Grace’s first seniors’ group, the Earhart’s 50+ Club. Its mandate is to provide recreation and socialization. Some recreational activities it has provided include paint nights, yoga, weekly Happy Feet walks, line dancing, technology information sessions, and other social events. 

The local Otterbury Schoolhouse, McCarthy added, was renovated to serve as a hub for those activities.

The Town has also added two new sites to the Municipal Heritage Site Designation program: the A. L. Collis Building and the Harbour Grace Airstrip. 

In the fall of 2022, the Aero Tennis Club’s clubhouse received an interior and exterior renovation with funding from the JCP program, and St. Francis Field has received new basketball and soccer nets. Community events, such as Come Home 2022 and the Pirates to Pilots Festival, have also been great successes, McCarthy said.

Regarding environmental stewardship, the strategic plan focuses on the protection, promotion, and preservation of Harbour Grace’s wildlife habitats. Initially the plan first focused on the Estuary, roughly 10 hectares of habitat located where Bannerman River drains into the mouth of the harbour. However, through consultation with the Stewardship Association of Municipalities (SAM), Harbour Grace expanded the focus to include Bannerman Lake and the Pirate’s Path Coastal Area, bringing the total area conserved to 155.5 hectares of habitat. 

The Town has continued to work with SAM and other environmental groups, developing signage and brochures, installing nest boxes, hosting citizen science information sessions, and designing a geocache challenge the in the area. This November, SAM will host a regional meeting at the Danny Cleary Harbour Grace Community Centre. 

The Town is also working on the creation of a Trails Master Plan. In 2022, Harbour Grace hired a student intern to help develop an inventory of trails. Later, with Active NL funding, it hired Green Leaf Resources, a landscape architect, to map and design a new trail for Bannerman River. Provincial Crown Lands recently approved the application based on the design, and the Town is seeking funding to complete the work in the coming months.

When it comes to public engagement area, McCarthy said, the Town has improved communication with residents. This has done by the regular promotion and use of a community email list, business roundtables, construction of a community bulletin board at the Town Hall, and the publication of a seasonal newsletter called The Heart of the Harbour. The Town’s Business of the Week newsletter has also received positive feedback, McCarthy said. 

The Owl 3 Meeting Tool allows public council meetings to be attended both in-person and online, McCarthy added. 

As for regional collaboration, the Town has sought opportunities to join forces with other municipalities over the past few years, McCarthy pointed out. This has led to the revitalization of the Joint Council of Conception Bay North. Harbour Grace, Spaniard’s Bay, Bay Roberts, and North River also came together last year to share a regional municipal enforcement officer. Finally, Harbour Grace has partnered with Carbonear to lead a regional initiative to improve communication among CBN towns. That in turn led to the development of a regional board of trade, McCarthy said.