Revelstoke councillors are reviewing a vision for the future of Revelstoke.
Chief Executive Officer Evan Parliament unveiled the first draft of the 2024-26 Strategic Plan at the Sept. 24 council meeting.
The draft document opens with a Community Vision Statement, which reads: “Revelstoke will pursue a sustainable mountain community by balancing environmental, social-economic, and cultural values within a local, regional and global context. Our rich heritage and stunning natural environment inspire us to be forward-thinking, inclusive, resilient and welcoming. We will create a supportive, vibrant community for those that live, work and visit here today and in the future.”
Eight community priorities are listed, including a range of housing options and affordability, environmental protection and stewardship, climate change action, and personal and community economic growth and stability.
Other priorities are a responsive and caring social support system, opportunities for lifelong learning, fostering diverse cultural and spiritual values and a range of recreation and activities for residents and visitors.
In his report to the council, Parliament noted that the strategic priorities represent the areas the City of Revelstoke aims to focus on through its objectives and actions for the coming two years.
“We use these as a lens to guide our work and to help prioritize people and resources toward improvements in our services for our community,” he noted.
The first priority is maintaining a sustainable community where strategic objectives balance the needs of housing, protecting Revelstoke’s natural assets and driving economic development for the benefit of the community.
The second area of priority identified in Parliament’s report is safety and mobility. Strategic objectives will focus on enhancing safety, preventing risk, and enabling the community to move around freely and access services within the city.
Priority area 3 focuses on enhanced service delivery through a focus on strategic objectives that build and continuously improve the city’s infrastructure in line with the expected growth and changing needs of the community.
Priority area 4 focuses on strategic objectives that support the city’s staff and council in building and maintaining an organization that serves the community.
In presenting the plan to council for review and feedback, Parliament pointed out that staff will be looking at operational and action items that relate to the plan.
“We’re looking to make sure the four key priority areas are well defined and that aligns with your understanding when we met with the consultants,” Parliament said. “Our hope is to have priorities part of the agenda package, but also, more specifically, outlining some of the action items that hold staff accountable to make sure we are achieving those said priorities.”
