Village of Chipman. Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 Chipman is a diverse, vibrant community, committed to growth and development where all ages may learn, work, play and live in an engaging environment.

2 Introduction The, established in 1966, is situated along the Salmon River leading into Grand Lake. It has a population of 1250, and provides services to over 8200 people living in the surrounding areas. Located between the cities of Miramichi, Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, Chipman provides a central location to connect to all the main urban centers of the Province. Chipman is home to an Irving Lumber Mill, with many local employees working either at the mill or to supply the mill. Despite these attributes, like many rural villages and small towns in the Province of New Brunswick, the Village is facing challenges of an aging demographic and population decline. To address these challenges proactively, Mayor and Council decided to undertake strategic planning in order to establish priorities for the Village. The prioritizes actions, strengthens communication and cooperation, and provides guidance for how energy and resources should be focused in order to ensure everyone is working towards meeting established goals. The lays out a vision for the future of the Village and the actions identified to help achieve it. By having the plan, efforts can be better coordinated to move towards that vision. ning Process In preparation of the, Mayor, Council, and Village staff reached out to the community for input. The strategic planning process began with community outreach through social media and other sources, asking the community to weigh in on what #MyChipman means to them. Next, a three-day ning Workshop was facilitated by Regional Service Commission 11 Planning and Development. Participants included community volunteers and leaders, business people and other stakeholders, along with Mayor, Council and Village staff. At the conclusion of the workshop a ning Committee was formed among the participants, and began meeting monthly. Community Outreach ning Workshop Economic Development Tourism and Recreation Arts and Culture Viability and Resiliency Service Delivery ning Committee = Vision Statement & Strategy Map 1

3 ning Workshop On January nd 2017, at the request of the Mayor and Council, Regional Service Commission 11 (RSC 11) Planning and Development facilitated a ning Workshop in the. Representatives from many sectors of the community, such as volunteers, business operators, educators, and other leaders, as well as the Mayor, Council and Village staff took part in the workshop. The objective of the workshop was to create a framework for the and to begin the development of a vision statement and the identification of objectives. RSC 11 Planning and Development staff facilitated discussions among smaller breakaway groups on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT exercise) for the following topic areas: Economic Development Tourism and Recreation Arts and Culture Viability and Resiliency Service Delivery Each group reported their findings, and common themes were discussed. The prevailing themes for each topic area were as follows: Economic Development Capitalizing on our resources and the natural environment is key. Good relations with the business community have been helpful. Many issues come back to population and how we grow and maintain as population ages. Better coordination and promotion of activities and events is needed. Tourism and Recreation Many opportunities and ideas were offered to better promote and utilize advantages such as the river and natural environment, and to promote the Village and area history. There are opportunities to better coordinate and promote existing programs. There is willingness for a volunteer task force. Arts and Culture Talents of Village and area residents are assets to help instill local pride and quality of the experience of living in Chipman. Arts and culture are intertwined with tourism and recreation as something to promote, which is of course intertwined with economic development. The products are here, but this is an underpromoted resource and we can look for opportunities to share with visitors. Viability and Resiliency Population loss is not a unique problem. While long term demographic trends can seem to be a big challenge, and it is, in the short term, the Village is not in as bad of shape as many. Short term needs are in the dozens, not the hundreds. If we can offer service to maintain our seniors and attract others from the area and if we can promote our quality of life and assets of affordable housing and location to people who already work in the Village it can go a long way. Once that comes back, and the satisfaction of existing residents increases, it will only help to attract more people. Service Delivery Participants were happy with services they get and feel they have a proactive council. Each weakness is also an opportunity. Participation, promotion and coordination are important. Most threats and solutions to challenges revolve around stabilization or growth of population. 2

4 Main Takeaways from the Workshop The themes of needing better promotion and coordination and the need for population growth found their way into every discussion. It was also clear that participants valued their natural environment and view it as the main opportunity. Opportunities most often were largest sections of the exercise and in regards to challenges it would seem like some modest gains on a few of these fronts could go a long way. Enclosed as appendices are: Recap of the SWOT exercise, Notes from the vision statement brainstorming, Vision statement suggestions, and Objectives identified by participants. After the workshop, the Village continued to have ongoing discussions with the community while RSC 11 worked towards preparing the. As a result of discussions during the workshop, community members were also invited to participate in the process of choosing a vision statement. A ning Committee was also formed as a result of the workshop, to further discuss elements of the and to work towards its implementation. ning Committee The ning Committee includes Village staff and Council, as well as community volunteers, business people and other leaders. Since the ning Workshop, the group has met monthly, and has not let the momentum fade. Meetings are intended to be a venue to discuss and implement ideas that have already made, and continue to make, a positive contribution to their community. The committee has been responsible for coming up with additional objectives and for implementing the initiatives aimed at fulfilling the goals established during the strategic plan process. Over the life span of the, the ning Committee will be integral to the ongoing implementation, adaptation, monitoring and evaluation of the. 3

5 A Vision for Chipman A vision statement puts in writing what a community or other organization wishes to achieve with their actions. In other words, it describes what the Village will be like in the future if Village Council is successful in accomplishing their goals and objectives. After the ning Workshop, the ideas about the vision were brought out for further input from the community, especially the younger community members. After further consultation and discussion, the following vision statement was formed: Chipman is a diverse, vibrant community, committed to growth and development where all ages may learn, work, play and live in an engaging environment. A vision statement should not be confused with a mission statement, which is simply what an organization s duties are. A mission statement for the Village is to provide leadership and decision-making for the residents and ratepayers of the. The vision statement represents what the Mayor and Council want to accomplish. If the goals (discussed further in the next section) of improving perceptions and attitudes, growing the population and workforce, and achieve economic growth and stability are accomplished, the will become a diverse, vibrant community, committed to growth and development where all ages may learn, work, play and live in an engaging environment. Strategy Map A Strategy Map was created for the, based on the vision and main themes of the ning Workshop and discussions with the ning Committee. As suggested by a member in a ning Committee meeting, the Strategy Map should become the face of the. It includes everything that is important and static, and provides guidance for how energy and resources should be focused in order to achieve the goals. 4

6 Strategy Map Vision Statement: Chipman is a diverse, vibrant community, committed to growth and development where all ages may learn, work, play and live in an engaging environment. Goals Improve the perception of Chipman as a place to live, work, play and learn Grow the population by 3 dozen families, and increase the workforce Achieve economic growth and stability and attract 3 new businesses Promote history Foster civic pride Grow volunteer spirit & engage Increase opportunities for recreation and promote active living to support health and wellness for all ages Promote advantages and proactively address challenges Attract new residents and be inclusive and welcoming Retain young population and reach out to expatriates Work with Industry to attract workforce Tourism development Local business support, promotion & engagement Examine opportunities for resource development and industry Enhance communication and coordination, highlight achievements. Outcomes Enhance quality of life Population growth Greater economic development Community viability and resilience, achieving vision The Strategy Map above presents the vision for the Village, and beneath it the main goals. There is a list beneath each goal where corresponding objectives are displayed. This is the level of detail that should remain static through the. Each objective will have strategic initiatives, which should not be considered as a static list, but rather are expected to change as needed to move towards the vision, goals and objectives of the plan. These are not listed on the Strategy Map. This provides freedom to add, remove and alter the initiatives over time, as needed, while keeping the overall approach contained in the Strategy Map consistent. Underlying the vision, goals, and objectives is the overall need to better coordinate and communicate efforts and activities, as well as highlight achievements. This is in reflection of the re-occurring themes heard at the ning Workshop. Social media, creativity, and attention should help in this regard. This is viewed as integral to all goals and objectives. At the bottom of the Strategy Map are the outcomes. The outcomes represent the belief that accomplishing the set goals and objectives will lead to outcomes that we desire, and that: improved quality of life will lead to population growth, which will lead to greater economic development, which will lead to supporting the viability and resilience of the village to future challenges, and to achieve the vision of a creating a diverse, vibrant community, committed to growth and development where all ages may learn, work, play and live in an engaging environment. 5

7 Goals, Objectives and Strategic Initiatives The Goals are to: Improve the perception of Chipman as a place to live, work, play and learn Grow the population by 3 dozen families in the region and increase the workforce, and Achieve economic growth and stability and attract three new businesses Under those goals, objectives should follow, and then the strategic initiatives, or simply put - the actions that can be taken to achieve the goals and objectives. The strategic initiatives should be a fluid list, which the committee can track, manage, and add to. The should focus on the vision, and the goals, to direct the Committee in the identification and implementation of the objectives and strategic initiatives. The plan will provide flexibility for the Committee, and those put in charge of specific tasks, to determine how and when they are accomplished. The following are strategic initiatives that have been identified at this point in time that could correspond to various established goals and objectives. It should be anticipated that the strategic initiatives will change through the life of the. Goal: Improve the perception of Chipman as a place to live, work, play and learn Objective: Promote history Promote Chipman s history in the churches Church tours, oral interview cassettes Chipman logging video Objective: Foster civic pride Encourage posting of pictures of the Village with #MyChipmanNB Communities in Bloom Emphasize good work that the community is doing, e.g. Article in Platinum Magazine Promote local artisans and craftspeople Main Street beautification Business Improvement Area Refurbish benches 6

8 Adopt a flag pole Reach out to Garden Club Street sweeper Objective: Grow volunteer spirit and engage Connect youth with volunteer and work programs Identify and apply for grants to employ students and young people in the community Objective: Increase opportunities for recreation and promote active living to support health and wellness for all ages Form recreation committee Goal: Grow the Population by 3 dozen famillies and increase the workforce Objective: Promote advantages and proactively address challenges French as a second language training Ride share options More seniors housing Literacy program for adults Objective: Attract new residents and be inclusive and welcoming Welcome Wagon Mental health services Objective: Retain young population and reach out to expatriates Reach out to expats 7

9 Mentoring program Find youth employment grants Objective: Work with Industry to attract workforce Maintain strong relationship with Industry and work together to accomplish mutual goals of growing workforce and address challenges. Goal: Achieve Economic Growth and Stability and attract three new businesses Objective: Tourism development Develop trail network, Riverwalk Make improvement at marina Objective: Local business support, promotion and engagement A Chamber of Commerce, possible link with Minto and Grand Lake Area Maintain strong relationship with Industry Objective: Examine opportunities for resouces development and industry Look into potential for use or resources ie, Shale, brick Natrural resource inventoy Looking Forward Council and the ning Committee should consider identifying measurable indicators to review at specific intervals to determine how they are doing. Whether it is to simply increase the total population, or increase the rates of participation in local events, it is prudent to have a means to evaluate progress so that success can be assessed annually, or every four years - near the conclusion of a Mayor or Councils term. Going forward, Council should consider the vision and goals of the when making decisions. When By-laws are reviewed, consideration should be given to consistency and compatibility with the. 8