Parksville introduced their 2012-16 strategic plan at their latest council meeting, meant “to communicate priorities and goals to staff and the community at large.”
The document is the result of several months of staff and council work and is presented to the public to foster understanding of their goals and objectives for the year.
“I really like the way this plan is written,” said Councillor Carrie Powell-Davidson, who liked the tangible recommendations and “take new action” bullet points.
“The city’s strategic plan will provide a focus to our efforts to deliver the greatest value of services and infrastructure which are most important to Parksville residents while we continue to manage the ongoing challenges and opportunities of our city,” mayor Chris Burger said in a news release.
Based on the 2011 draft plan, the new one lays out vision and mission statements and five main goals including: to strengthen the city’s neighbourhoods; promote an active, engaged and safe community; have a healthy environment; have effective infrastructure and services; and excellence in governance and fiscal management.
It is based on input from council discussions, workshops, past strategic plans, resident surveys and the city’s capital plan and budget.
Each goal has specific objectives and recommended actions. For example under the goal of strengthening the downtown it calls for the continued support of multi-family housing and mixed use developments, discouraging strip development along the highway and enhancing pedestrian and cycling linkages.
It calls for the new action of reviewing of the city’s tax incentive programs.
The plan is available on the city’s website at www.parksville.ca.
The strategic plan is organized around five goals:
1. A city with a vibrant downtown and great neighbourhoods — to strengthen the city’s downtown and neighbourhoods, housing diversity and overall livability.
2. A vibrant community — to promote an active, engaged, healthy and safe community.
3. Environment and parks — to have a healthy environment and offer many opportunities for the community to interact with the natural beauty that surrounds the city.
4. Effective municipal infrastructure and services — to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain an efficient network of transportation, water, sanitary sewer and drainage infrastructure and services that support a high quality of life in a sustainable, cost-effective manner.
5. Excellence in governance and fiscal management — to manage information and decision making processes to be Inclusive, transparent and accountable and to ensure the long term financial health of the city.