Centre Wellington council and staff are working to itemize council’s key initiatives and highest priorities for the 2015-2018 term and looking for public input to make certain their are headed in the right direction.
A draft has been released for public comment.
As the item came to council on June 20, Mayor Kelly Linton said he was very excited about the strategic plan and work done by Winegard Consulting.
Linton emphasizes the extent of community consultation that has gone into the process.
“Last winter, Winegard Consulting met with 20 community organizations, local entrepreneurs, and agency representatives on our behalf. The groups ranged from the high school student council and the Victoria Park seniors committee, to the chamber of commerce and minor hockey association, as well as many others.”
CAO Andy Goldie considered this an excellent process with lots of community engagement.
Goldie said Bill Winegard when “above and beyond what was originally proposed.”
The draft will be up for consultation over the next few months and back in September for final approval.
Winegard went through the document with councillors.
Winegard noted one aspect of this assumes routine activities would continue.
This document instead looks at how council will work to add value to community life and township government.
It also focussed on priorities, understanding that councillor cannot cover everything but it can focus on what is determines the most important things are.
The process included public consultation including a township-wide sample of 1,000 house … of which 215 responded.
Winegard noted there were also 300 members of the public who voluntarily participated in the survey.
He said it was interesting to see many of the same priorities were evident in both the statistical and voluntary surveys.
“We heard about infrastructure … from old and young, from rural and urban, and from business and otherwise.”
Winegard added “We heard about roads and bridges … and to a lesser degree … trails and parks.
He noted growth is also an issue in people’s minds.
Winegard stressed that while people see opportunities in growth, they don’t want to lose the quality of life and the community spirit which exists in Centre Wellington.
A consistent theme voiced during the consultation was that growth should pay for growth to the extent it is possible.
Winegard said residents are very aware of the economy along with concerns of becoming a bedroom community.
“We also heard a lot about government and people’s expectations.”
He considered it encouraging that there were a number of people who wanted to ensure their government was spending with care and only on the priorities.
Winegard agree everyone’s sense of priority is different, but said this process helps identify those priorities where council will spend its time, money and energy.
Other issues raised included communication, consultation, partnerships, spending priorities and reviewing efficiencies at the municipal level.
There were also a number of meetings with council as to what can be done in the 2015 to 2018 term such as the township’s role, available resources and timing.”
Winegard hoped the report covered the aspects of what should be done and what can be done.
He added staff time was commandeered to provide more detailed advice of the current situation in the township regarding items council would like to take action on including estimated costs and timelines.
Winegard added “the priorities act as guidelines council will use to make decisions and staff will use to guide their activities.”
At this stage, Winegard said the next move will be to determine is if the draft document captures both what the community sees as the highest priorities for the township and does the document capture the message council wants to convey for the 2015-2018 term.
Councillor Fred Morris asked how flexible this document would be moving into the future – in light of “game changer events”.
Goldie said “we can only envision what the future will be with the knowledge we have today. As things change, we would go back and revisit the priorities and what needs to be change.”
Goldie said his view was these strategic plans would be looked at each year as part of the budgeting process.
He said certain items may no longer be considered realistic to accomplish certain actions within the original timelines.
Linton later commented “Our community survey last March received an excellent 21.5% response rate to our 1000-household random sample, and an amazing 310 additional surveys were submitted. Everyone knows the township doesn’t have the money, time, or jurisdiction to do everything; but we wanted to hear about the issues where, within our term of council, the community feels it is most important to take action. I think we got a very good feel through these consultations.”
He said the draft sets out five key areas for attention during the council term:
– Reliable infrastructure, with particular attention to the repair of roads and bridges
– Healthy growth, making sure the costs generated by the inevitable future growth are paid for by growth rather than by existing taxpayers, and that development doesn’t damage the quality of life residents enjoy
– Economic prosperity, taking advantage of Centre Wellington’s potential and supporting the business community to expand and create local jobs
– Pride of place, with particular emphasis on community partnerships to enhance local amenities
– Good government, emphasizing good two-way communication with the citizens and businesses of the township, and efficient operations
“Under each of those areas, we have tried to be quite specific about actions we plan to take during the next three and a half years,” adds Linton.
“Council intends to get results in these areas, to make a difference. At the same time, we don’t want to make commitments we cannot keep. With input from the public, we hope council has identified what is most important; with excellent advice from our management team, we believe what we plan to do is doable.”
“But it’s still a draft,” the Linton stressed.
“Before council approves the plan, we want to give the public another opportunity to tell us if we are headed in the right direction and taking the right steps to get there.”
The draft council’s priorities and Initiatives 2015-2018 can be downloaded from the Centre Wellington website.
Paper copies can also be obtained by contacting the CAO’s office at 519- 846-9691 x234.
Written comments are welcome and may be submitted by Sept. 11 to strategicplan2015@centrewellington.ca or by mail to: Strategic Plan 2015, c/o Andy Goldie, CAO, Township of Centre Wellington, 1 MacDonald Square, Elora, ON N0B 1S0
Any resident or community organization that wishes to present their feedback to Council in person is invited to do so at the Sept. 21, committee of the whole meeting. Contact Kerri O’Kane, manager of legislative services/municipal clerk, at kokane@centrewellington.ca or 519-846-9691 x243, no later than Sep. 14 to be registered as a delegation.
