Lake Country honoured for citizen engagement

The District of Lake Country has received national recognition for its innovative ways of involving its residents in the development of its official community plan.

The district was presented with the 2018 Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators Willis Award for innovation in the under 20,000 category.

One of the ways the district involved the community was through frog talks, which involved residents picking up frog figurines with questions attached to take home to encourage discussions about the future of Lake Country.

Participants were encouraged to order pizza for the discussion gatherings, and the district reimbursed residents for the cost of the pizza if they sent in feedback based on the questions.

In addition, the district also hosted an on-point engagement series, which featured craft beer, music, poetry and local art.

Speakers included youth, business people and social justice representatives.

“These organic outreach events, facilitated by the creative planning team at Urban Systems, prompted a more meaningful discussion on the community and provided a strong direction for the official community plan and the future of Lake Country,” said Mark Koch, Lake Country’s community services director.