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Turner Valley launches new strategic plan

Turner Valley town councilors are kicking off the New Year with a focus on recreation and building relationships within the community.
Turner Valley Town council approved a 2017-2020 strategic plan that focuses on improving operational excellence, fiscal responsibility, partnerships and outdoor recreation
Turner Valley Town council approved a 2017-2020 strategic plan that focuses on improving operational excellence, fiscal responsibility, partnerships and outdoor recreation opportunities in the community.

Turner Valley town councilors are kicking off the New Year with a focus on recreation and building relationships within the community.

Town council recently approved a three-year strategic plan to improve operational excellence, fiscal responsibility, partnerships and outdoor recreation opportunities in the community.

“Even though the Town had a three year business plan years ago it was converted after the flood (in 2013) to a flood recovery plan,” said Barry Williamson, chief administrative officer, adding the flood recovery business plan ended in 2016. “We started on this last year so we could go into the 2017-2020 period with an up-to-date and higher level plan to start us off on the right foot.”

For outdoor recreation, the plan outlines various projects of focus including upgrading and enhancing Millennium Park, promoting outdoor activities, extending the pathway system and establishing a campground, playground, off-leash dog park, community garden and outdoor sports area.

Williamson said the first step is to create a business case to review the projects on the list.

“A consultant will be working the next three months to look at the projects and put priorities and affordability around them,” he said. “Probably March, April there will be a summary of that.”

The plan’s focus on improving operational excellence includes adopting a business plan, developing work plans for budgeted items, ensuring staff have the resources and tools to do their job and linking position descriptions to performance measures.

It also calls for ensuring new initiatives are measured in relation to environmental impact and that the Town website allows for public feedback for major projects.

“We have to make sure we have our people trained, we have the right equipment and define service delivery and what does it look like,” said Williamson. “We hold ourselves to operational excellence.”

While the focus on fiscal responsibility is something administration and council have been working on for years, said Williamson, there’s always room for improvement.

The plan outlines having a 10-year capital plan included with each annual budget, ensuring new projects consist of a business case, advising the public on municipal services and budget considerations and establishing policies to define how and when to access grants, reserves and borrowing. Williamson said work is already in progress to educate the public about the town’s 2017 capital and operating budget, approved by Town council in December.

“We are about to put out a mail-out that breaks down what the town’s budget looks like,” he said. “It’s things like that.”

Building partnerships is a priority in the strategic plan, including engaging the public with community programs and events, expanding commercial development, encouraging sports and culture groups to work together to engage the community and enhancing programs to strengthen and grow the commercial base.

Turner Valley Mayor Kelly Tuck said she is proud of Turner Valley’s partnerships with surrounding municipalities, which including aligning policies and sharing resources.

“We work really hard with our partners, be it Black Diamond, Longview or the MD of Foothills,” she said. “Hopefully we will continue to grow with them.”

Tuck also prides Turner Valley in its ongoing role of being fiscally responsible. She said the 2017 operating and capital budget is a prime example.

“We had to have a one per cent increase in our budget and our budget didn’t go up at all,” she said, adding council and administration instead made use of its tax stabilization reserve to cover the balance.

She said the Town has been building up the reserve fund for years to prepare for tough situations, such as the recent recession which has left many residents in town financially strained.

As for the strategic plan’s focus on recreation, Tuck said it’s the Town responding to the needs of residents.

“We’ve done a few surveys with questions being asked, what do you want to see in your community and what do you value the most to come back into the community?” she said, adding those items are listed in the strategic plan.

The most popular request has been to develop an extensive pathway system, which the town began focusing on as flood recovery projects come to a close, Tuck said.

“That’s probably the biggest thing we’ve invested in and we’re hearing good comments about,” she said. “It’s about maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”

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