by Rachel Everett-Fry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Municipality of North Grenville is developing a new Strategic Plan to help guide the community’s services and development for the next ten years.
Municipal Council and staff encourage residents to complete a survey on their vision for North Grenville. The results of this survey will directly inform the Strategic Plan.
Is your priority improving sidewalks and road safety? Or would you prefer to see greater attention paid to environmental stewardship? It could be that you are keen to foster development by attracting young families.
Or perhaps your concern is how we will maintain the rural character of the area. This is the time to consider these questions, and express your opinion to the Municipality.
A Strategic Plan involves developing a vision for the future and building a roadmap for how to achieve this vision. This includes economic, environmental, social, and political aspects. The community’s last Strategic Plan was approved in 2013 by the previous Council.
In 2018, the current Council was elected and committed to completing an update. Developing a plan that truly reflects the community’s needs, priorities, and expectations is crucial for a satisfying Strategic Plan.
Mayor Peckford stated that, “This is an opportunity for us to collectively plan for the future, as we seek to build on our community’s strengths and contend with the high rate of growth in North Grenville.” Though each resident will have different priorities and concerns, she noted that, “the beauty of this process is that everyone has the right to be heard.
I know there’s a lot of opinions in this community about what the future looks like, so it will be great to get a diversity of perspectives and try to put it all together.”
Councillor John Barclay wanted to, “emphasize to the community how important this process is.” This survey is an opportunity for each resident to think about, and then weigh-in on, what kind of community they want to be living in 5 or 10 years from now.
He said the survey is, “very broad-ranging, and it’s very important that we get as much public feedback as possible to get the most robust Community Strategic Plan to take us forward.”
As our community continues to grow over the next decade, as we continue to try to balance the needs and wants of those in more rural areas with those in the Town of Kemptville, and as we go through a municipal election, the input that residents can offer today will be critical.
The survey, which only takes about 7 minutes to complete, is available now. Residents, businesses, and community groups can now provide their input through the link at www.northgrenville.ca/vision.
For those who prefer a hard copy, the survey is also available at the Municipal Centre and the North Grenville Public Library. Additional public consultation can be expected through open town-hall sessions in the Fall.