Committee members in a Foothills village are looking to their neighbours to help increase the profile of their small community.
The Longview Economic Development Committee is asking for input from residents and merchants to create a brand that’s unique to Longview and represents what the community stands for, said member Jan Dyck.
It’s one of three initiatives the committee, established by Village council last summer, is currently taking on to improve tourism and attract people to the community.
“I think people just expect that our brand is western and the arts and oil and gas, but it hasn’t officially ever been done,” said Dyck. “We are in the process of defining how Longview wants to be portrayed. It’s quite an exercise to go through.”
The committee created a subcommittee of local citizens and merchants to gather input from others through informal discussions and expect to bring those ideas back to council this fall.
When a brand is determined, Dyck said it will be incorporated into the village website, social media, advertising and new signs for the north and south entrances into Longview.
The committee is also making improvements to its visitor information centre at the north end of the village.
Longview artist Matts Zoumer painted a large mural depicting a character map of Main Street on the north side of the centre and a new sign will be added to increase visibility, said Dyck.
The committee also created a new Facebook page last spring called the Village of Longview Alberta, where village highlights and activities are promoted.
The committee is hosting its first event, a kite festival at the school grounds on Aug. 6, said Dyck.
“We thought it’s an easy one to see if we can get people off the highway to stop,” she said. “Part of our role is to stop people on the highway instead of driving through.”
The ideas come from the committee’s five-year economic development plan to improve tourism and attract people to the village, said Dyck.
“There has been lots of work done and lots of ideas,” she said.
The committee also plans to contact companies that offer bus tours along the Cowboy Trail to encourage them to stop in Longview.
Longview Mayor Carole MacLeod said the committee is part of council’s sustainability plan.
“It’s to help promote Longview and brand Longview so that there is more development that will happen here and people will want to come and build in Longview,” she said. “It’s something council has been looking at for a while.”
MacLeod, the committee’s council representative, said members received training to learn how to set goals and pursue a brand and are enthusiastic about seeing growth in the village.
“We are sitting at about 310 residents in Longview and we have the capacity with our water and waste water to go to 600, 650,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of land space to grow but we do have empty lots in Longview. There is room for housing and there is commercial land behind the hotel that’s also for sale to be used for commercial or multifamily housing. We want to be able to grow to our fullest potential.”
MacLeod said she’s commuted to downtown Calgary from Longview for four years, adding it’s not a long commute for people wanting a quiet home life.
“It’s as far as away as Cochrane and Strathmore,” she said. “There are a lot of commuters in this town.”
With four art galleries, five restaurants on Main Street, an elementary school and various community activities, MacLeod said Longview is a great community to call home.
“It’s so fabulous living here,” she said. “We have a lot to offer.”
