Saying “it’s the voices of your community,” consultant Andy Mitchell, of Arising Collective, delivered a community engagement report to Minden Hills council at its March 13 meeting.
The document will form part of the municipality’s strategic plan that is currently underway, CAO Cynthia Fletcher said.
Commenting on a process that saw more than 700 people take part, “was a pretty significant response rate, speaking to the passion of the community for the community,” Mitchell said. “This engagement was successful because the people of the community were willing to engage.”
Summarizing key observations, Mitchell said they were told people are the foundation of the community. “It came out in our conversations, people are generous, caring, come together in crisis, and are willing to help each other out. People feel passionate about Minden Hills, its history, their connection to the community, and values of the community.”
As the township considers its strategic plan, it must keep those things front and centre, Mitchell said.
He added Arising Collective was told protecting the rural nature of Minden Hills in the face of growth is important. “People live here because it is a rural community, the lifestyle, set of values. People recognize there will be growth and changes, but don’t alter the fundamental reality of what community is,” he advised council.
The public also spoke to getting over the fear of change and embracing the future. Mitchell said with post-COVID weariness, “there is a tendency to stay with what you know, as opposed to taking a chance on what you don’t know.” He said the public was clear in saying, “we just need to get on with it.”
Mindenites also spoke to the need to revitalize the downtown, to launch a spirit of renewal in the community; and further that, “council needs to both govern and lead the community.”
He said ratepayers recognize the township cannot afford to do everything and must prioritize two-to-three things and just start.
In discussing opportunities, Mitchell said four key themes emerged: strengthening the small business, tourism, and local food sectors as a means of creating additional wealth and jobs; return to some things done well in the past; pursuing innovative approaches to community and broader challenges, such as multigenerational housing; and reinvigorating the downtown.
As to where the community wants to go, the consultants summarized what they heard from people.
“Minden Hills wants to build on its natural and built assets as it renews itself in an inclusive and comprehensive manner. Building on the diversity of its residents’ talents and through an invigoration of volunteerism, leveraging of social networks, and with the leadership of council, it intends to establish community priorities that address all segments of the community, while contributing to an increased standard of living and a better quality of life. The journey may be long, and it may be challenging, but it needs to begin now.”
Coun. Pam Sayne, who sits on the board of ROMA, said some of the challenges residents spoke to them about are shared across regional and rural Ontario.
“Housing, healthcare, internet, transportation, cost of living, food prices.” She said she “appreciated we have a creative community here to solve those problems. We need to make sure we are interacting in a way that allows creativity to come forward.”
Mayor Bob Carter said doing the community engagement as part of a strategic plan is leading the community.
Fletcher said staff will present a report to council in April recommending the next steps and processes for completing the work to develop a strategic community priority plan.
