There is a definite change of pace in Squamish! The amount of building and proposed building is creating a sense of excitement. This excitement was very obvious last week in the Wild at Art Gallery. The attraction was the models and posters of the future development of stores, houses and the Adventure Centre. People were very impressed and asked a lot of questions. The general consensus was that it is very helpful to see what is going on and to feel included by being able to talk to the proponents about their developments. As a part of this growth and development we need to ensure that we communicate the plans, create opportunity for feedback and be mindful of maintaining the spirit of Squamish. Change requires planning and preparation so we can keep the things we treasure and add those components that improve our community. This is certainly in the forefront for Council and staff.
During the last year the Social Development and Youth committee has been focussing on the development of a social planning council and has made great progress. I would like to give you an update on what has happened so far. Social planning can be defined as a process to identify the social impact of change in a community and strategies for working together for improvement. The changes can be environmental, economic, physical or cultural. Our committee felt that a small working group should begin to grapple with the issues, help to define the areas of interest, create some goals and values and then the process to make it happen. We took our deliberations back to the main committee several times for feedback and agreed that we were well on our way. The next step was to find out if anyone in the community agreed with us. A workshop under the guidance of the Social Planning and Research Council (SPARC) was held at Totem Hall. We invited community service agencies and other sectors like schools, health, planners and community members to look at the idea. We spent the day examining what is happening elsewhere and used the compiled information to confirm a planning policy.
The Social Planning Council will be a stand alone group who will advocate for sustainable and healthy growth in our community. The areas of focus for planning will be children and youth, safety and security, housing, employment and poverty. The values of inclusiveness, cooperation, coordination, needs assessment, strategic planning, advocacy and not reinventing the wheel are inherent in the plan. We have received word from SPARC that as a part of a project that they are doing they would like to continue to support us in creating a Squamish Social Planning Council. This is a real bonus for Squamish and will make our project a model for other communities in the province.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the community likes to be kept informed and a great way to make that happen is at community events like Wild at Art. This year's festival was a great success and provided a time when families and neighbours could catch up with one another while not having to spend any money. We really did celebrate who we have been, where we are going and all the while enjoyed the wonderful talents of our local artists. One of the great features of the Wild at Art Gallery was the "wall of art" of our children. Their pride in the display was obvious but they were also eyeing the artists' works with a notion of having their own there soon. I think the final seal of approval for the artists was the opportunity to keep the gallery open for another week. We look forward to next year when it will be bigger and better.
