What responsibilities do residents have for shaping the future within their community?
There will soon be advertised the annual Boards and Committees volunteer opportunities.
The Town of Irricana Council is committed to community development wherein residents come together to analyze, generate solutions and develop plans to improve Irricana's quality of life.
If you are civically minded, volunteering on a board or committee is a pro-active means to provide direct public input into decision making. With a variety of committees, residents can lend their voice and expertise and assist in creating future realities.
Administration will be actively advocating a review of the Town's Municipal Sustainability Plan (MSP) that will be re-introduced at Ideafest. The MSP is a high-level planning document that reflects what the community wants from every aspect of life and suggests the means for achieving goals. Planning for Irricana is an important strategy to guide business decisions and as such move towards a more sustainable future. There will be an opportunity for volunteers to join this committee that is not appointed, but is rather led by Council and collaborates with administration and residents.
The review of the MSP is a small time commitment that will shape the future of Irricana; who will share their views and be part of solution based initiative that provides desirable returns.
If you don't volunteer or provide some sort of input do you have the right to complain?
Laura Thiessen
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways to contribute to the community outside of the committees that fall under the towns umbrella. This has been a sore spot for some residents for as long as I have lived here. Although joining the towns boards is a great way to participate in the shaping of our community, it is not the only way.
Just think of the Lions, Fire Fighters, Scouts and volunteers from several other community organizations. All of these groups benefit the community and should not be discounted simply because they are not "town boards".
So I ask you...would you say that these members of the community have the right to complain?
Laura, it is news to me that community organizations other than town boards are discounted. I, for one, am aware of many of the Lions' contributions (often through the words of others), I see the Scouts serving in various ways, just tonight I attended a volunteer function at Pioneer Acres, and I believe some/maybe all these groups are among those recognized by town volunteer recognition events. I personally appreciated the Fire Fighters who were quick to arrive at my home when 911 was phoned. I've shared with others what efficient and compassionate help they gave. If residents are feeling unappreciated, it is a reminder to us all to be quicker to acknowledge what they do for us-- including community organizations, town-based committees, councilors, town staff and, yes, the individual we casually meet who makes the day more pleasant for us. Members of our community all!
DeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct, be the community you want to be, whether that is fire fighting, or working with the Lions, or on the Agriculture Society. People have joined these groups because that is what interests them, they want to have input into how these groups are run, and they care about that part of the community.
I was speaking more specifically to the guiding document for the Town, the Municipal Sustainability Plan. This plan guides the decisions of the Town and it is created by the citizens of Irricana. So would you rather just complain about the direction Irricana is going or take an active role in leading the way?
Many of the groups you listed, and some you didn't, do take an active role in planning with the Town, and that role is very much appreciated by Council and Administration.
“If you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out... Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier.”
― Randy Pausch
Laura Thiessen
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't think of taking a more active role than running for council. :)
But yes, I agree that more residents could be involved in the planning of our town's future by joining the MSP committee. With this in mind, I hope that there will be no limit to the number of residents that can join. If we can entice a large group to be a part of this process, the better off our town will be. I don't want to see anyone turned away.
It is my opinion that nobody should be complaining. If you don't get involved, then you shouldn't complain because you did not put forth the effort to make the difference and have your voice heard. If you DID get involved, you shouldn't complain because you would understand the difficulties and obstacles that led to the way things ended up being done.
ReplyDeleteOur town is like a business. If you were a part owner of a business and in a fair vote the other owners of that business decided to go a different direction, would you go to the papers and complain about your own business? Of course not. You would try to work with the others, and if the differences were too great, you would sell your shares. What you wouldn't do is take a chance on those shares devaluing because your business has received a negative reputation.
There are many many things in Irricana to be proud of. If something happens that is not to your liking, there are plenty of internal avenues to communicate that to council in administration. There are policies and procedures in place that need to be adhered to for things to get done. It does no good, and actually does a fair amount of harm, when you publically shine a spotlight on perceived deficiencies.