The city is looking into the possibility of building a ceremonial fire pit along the Barrie waterfront.
The Barrie Native Friendship Centre and the Barrie-Kempenfelt Rotary Club have expressed interest in partnering with the city in the design and construction of a fire pit, with a seating area, for ceremonial use by the local Indigenous community.
The project would be “in the spirit of reconciliation,” according to a motion discussed at Monday night’s general committee meeting at city hall.
The item will come back to council for final approval.
The ceremonial fire pit and seating area, which would be designed through collaboration, would be installed on the south shore of the waterfront in the area between the Southshore Centre and the Kiwanis Pavilion.
A maximum of $10,000 would be funded from the strategic projects reserve for the design. Additional funding to a maximum of $40,000 from the strategic projects reserve would be committed to this project, funded by Alectra dividends, to match overall project funding provided by community partners, including the Rotary Club.
City staff would lead the conceptual design process and report back to general committee with details on the partnership agreement, as well as the capital and operating costs for approval prior to implementation.
