NOTES FROM WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO YOU RECENTLY
GGRA.ca
Greater Gravenhurst Residents' Association
Box 862, Gravenhurst, Ontario
P1P 1V2
Mayor Paisley Donaldson
Members of Council
Town Office
Gravenhurst, Ontario
Dear Paisley and Members of Council
The Greater Gravenhurst Residents' Association would like to thank you for your "Mayor's Report", which we are forwarding to our members and adding to our website upon receipt.
It was mentioned, that on October 5th, you had a meeting to discuss the presentation of the results of the Covenco Report to the general public.
The Greater Gravenhurst Residents' Association, on behalf of our members would like to ask you when these results of the Covenco Report might be brought forward. Will the report be presented at a November Council meeting or possibly attached to your "Mayor's Report"?
It has been our wish for a long while, to have an Efficiency and Effectiveness Report completed, and we are very interested in the results and the implementation of any recommendations that will help the Town move forward in the best possible way. We would appreciate hearing from you as to when and how we might obtain those results.
Yours truly,
Evelyn Matson per
Greater Gravenhurst Residents' Association
Board of Directors.
Strategic planning session Friday June 24 2011
The notes from this session are composed without prejudice. The notes are brief as the process followed was identical to the previous meeting and the details will continue to be refined as the various groups process the actual work plans associated with the identified objective. As citizens we are aware the process is continuing and community participation is welcomed..
The meeting was held at the Muskoka Boat and Heritage centre. All councillors with the exception of Randy Jorgensen were in attendance (personal reasons). Staffs from each area were there as well. Judy Coward was the facilitator. 4 members of the public were in attendance.
Notes from the Thursday May 12 meeting had been summarized for all participants.
Staff agreed to continue working on an action plan format for the 5 identified top priorities in the strategic planning process. Targeted economic development, Communication strategy, Lack of serviced land, the need for a long term Community Vision and and an aging Municipal Infrastructure.
The Action plan for a lack of serviced land had been the topic in the last meeting.
The Group began with a targeted economic development. The objective of this priority is to define actionable items with timelines attached and the allocation of associated resources. After much discussion the group agreed that the development of a work plan would be the responsibility of the CAO and the EDO with assistance from other departments as required. A full report of the status of the work plan will come to council in 6 months – Dec. 2011
The next item was the Communication Strategy. The objective of this strategy was to make communication and consultation an integral component of the Town’s operation. The product would be a communication plan that is sanctioned by council. The responsibility would fall to the CAO and clerk with the assistance of other departments as required. A report will be prepared to come to council in 6 months – Dec. 2011.
The next priority identified was the need for a long-term community vision. This is not the Official Plan as that is a land use plan, but a long-term sustainable community vision looking 20 years in the future. There was much discussion around this priority as it was necessary to determine the difference between information sessions with the various constituents and an active outreach and consultation. The decision was to make the Mayor and the advisory committee, the CAO and Planning and Development responsible. The timeline discussed was to begin in early 2012 and complete the process by 2013.
The last item was an aging municipal infrastructure. The objective of this identified priority was to create a sustainable plan for new and existing infrastructure.
The full report of the strategic plan will be posted on the Town website and citizens will be encouraged to make comments and suggestions.
We will provide a link to the town website to keep you informed and encourage you to make comments.