Dear Editor:
In October, three interactive, drop-in open houses will be held by the Mayor’s Standing Committee on Public Engagement to gather information on how people want to be engaged during planning and development processes.
We are asking everyone who has an interest in how our community develops to attend, because every opinion counts. The input you provide now will have an impact on our community’s future.
People have different ideas about how our neighbourhoods should grow and develop, and we want to be sure there is strong two-way communication between the Township and residents regarding these important issues. Not everyone will agree with the decisions council makes, but it is imperative to us that everyone has a chance to express their opinions and feel that they have been heard.
To do that, we want to be sure we are connecting and communicating with the public in the way that works best for them. The Township already provides several opportunities for public input – such as charrettes, open houses, and public hearings – but we want to know if there are different and better ways to gather people’s viewpoints.
That is why we need to hear from you. On behalf of the Public Engagement Committee and Township council, I am asking everyone in the community who is interested in development and how our community is growing to come out to have your say.
Please make a point of attending one of the open houses and tell us how you want to interact with the Township. The drop-in sessions will feature interactive stations, voting games, a dialogue circle, and a visioning wall so that people can provide input in a variety of fun, interesting ways. Whether you stay for a few minutes or several hours, stop in and make your opinion count.
The information collected will help form a new engagement policy, guidelines, and suggested tools for development processes and policies that will be presented to council for consideration later this year.
A Public Engagement Open House was held Tuesday, Oct. 20. Open houses will be Thursday, Oct. 22, 5 to 9 p.m., at the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre, and Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at George Preston Recreation Centre. See you there.
Jack Froese, Township mayor
