Baby steps

Seeing the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce and local BIA come together last Thursday evening for a brainstorming session on ways to revitalize our town was encouraging, with the strong turnout suggesting a desire to forge ahead rather than simply wave the white flag.
Where we seem to have trouble, though, is turning that talk into action.
We known for years that the forest industry was on shaky ground, that a high dollar fuels outshopping, and that Fort Frances is a point of entry into Northwestern Ontario rather than a destination. Yet here we are still talking about what the problems are while concrete solutions have been sorely lacking.
This doesn’t involve just the “big” ideas, either. As a letter-writer points out this week, how can we expect tourists driving RVs or hauling boats to stop in the downtown core if we still haven’t figured out where they can park?
Or take the fate of the Rainy Lake Hotel. There’s been plenty of talk and ideas about what to do with that eyesore in the middle of Scott Street, yet there it remains. And it’s a safe bet it still will be there come this time next year.
We’ve had various “reward” programs and promotions in the past to encourage local shopping with varying degrees of success—yet here we are going down that path again as if it’s the magic cure. We talk about the need for major events here—at the same time the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship faces an uncertain future while we allowed Fun in the Sun, Culturama, the Little Amik Winter Carnival, and the Fort Frances Folk Festival, among others, to fall by the wayside.
The Chamber and BIA working together is welcome—and long overdue. But while it’s a start, what’s desperately needed are giant strides forward, not more baby steps in circles.