By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
The Village of Valemount held an open house at the Community Hall last Wednesday, where residents could speak with councillors and staff about everything from writing grants to emergency services to recently-passed bylaws.
“It’s to give the public a chance to engage with staff,” CAO Anne Yanciw said. “If they have questions they want to ask about specific projects, they can dig a little deeper than just reading about something in the minutes from a council meeting.”
Staff could also help attendees with processes like signing up for Voyent Alert!, the Village’s emergency notification system, she added.
Yanciw also hoped to use the open house as a way to make residents aware of the funding opportunities available for Valemount residents and organizations. She dedicated her table to the Community Endowment Fund, which currently has just under $400K for resident-directed community improvement projects sitting unused. To distribute the funds, a board of directors would need to be established, but the Village hasn’t been able to recruit volunteers, according to Yanciw.
“We can’t get board members so that we can establish a grant program,” Yanciw said. “So we’re really hoping people can learn about this and get excited about it.”
The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George also made an appearance with information about the District’s new recycling contract and cultural initiatives, like the Valemount Museum. Hilary Erasmus, Manager of Communications and Culture for the Regional District, attended alongside representatives from the District’s environmental services and cultural services.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to connect with the residents of Valemount, to answer any questions they have about our services,” Erasmus said of the open house. “We’re here to answer people’s questions on what they can do with [the recyclable materials] they have, or whatever else they’re wondering about. We were invited by our partners at the Village, and we wanted to come out and support the event.”
Because the Valemount Transfer Station reopened with expanded recycling services just a couple weeks before the open house, several residents had questions about recycling and sustainability initiatives, according to Erasmus.
“We’ve had some really good conversations with people. I was just talking to a resident about our involvement in the community, consultation committees, and sustainability,” she said. “And recycling, we’ve had some residents who are really excited about that.”
Attendees appreciated the opportunity to talk face-to-face with local government staff. Jeannette Lorenz, who says she has been a passionate advocate for renewable energy throughout her life, spoke with Regional District representatives about potential green energy initiatives in Valemount, like building solar panels. She recently started the Valemount Electric Vehicle Society, so she valued the chance to introduce her organization to the District.
Lorenz also got some peace of mind from her conversations with the Village’s recently-hired Emergency Program Coordinator, Rundi Anderson.
“I had a little bit of time to write questions down [before the open house]: what about the forests around us, what is the village doing to get us prepared for fires? What about landslides? What about evacuation plans for during the day and night?” Lorenz recounted. “And she [Anderson] wrote it down, so I think she’s going to talk about these things with the Village.”
Lorenz also signed up to volunteer with Emergency Support Services after her conversation with Anderson, she said.
Likewise, resident Kurien Thomas asked Village staff about the fire that sparked on the Friday prior to the open house, and discussed what lessons the Village has learned from this summer’s wildfires.
Thomas has lived in small communities throughout Canada, and finds that open houses like the ones Valemount organizes provide an opportunity for good-faith discussions of how to improve the community.
“This community exchange is very important for community development,” he said. “It’s really good for [attendees] who come to these meetings in a good, balanced way, approaching with problem-solving in mind.”
