Three townships gauging residents’ wishes

With the focus on economic development picking up across the district, three communities have decided to poll their constituents to seek new direction and priorities.
The strategic planning surveys, written with the help of the Rainy River Future Development Corp., are being sent to residents in Emo, Alberton, and Lake of the Woods townships within the next few weeks.
“We’re asking every resident of each municipality what they think the future of their community is,” noted RRFDC economic development officer Geoff Gillon.
The surveys will be based on three question:
•What would you like to see occur in your community in the next five years?
•What prevents this from happening?
•What action can we take to overcome our obstacles and achieve our vision?
“We’ll have a public meeting to discuss all the issues that come from the surveys,” noted Emo Reeve Russ Fortier. “The survey was put together by RRFDC because under their mandate, we requested they do this.”
In Emo, residents should receive the survey next week, which they can either return by mail or drop off at several boxes which will be set up in the community.
In Alberton, the survey was mailed out more than a week ago. They are to be returned by tomorrow (March 8).
Alberton is one of the most recent members of the RRFDC, having joined for the first time this year.
“The RRFDC is good for the whole district and it was bothering me that we weren’t part of that,” noted Alberton Reeve John Milling. “I wasn’t in favour of it a few years ago but I had a change of heart . . . I saw the light as it were.”
The survey was requested by Lake of the Woods township more than two years ago but it didn’t work out back then. Now the RRFDC is expecting to take a second run at distributing the survey there.
In each community, the surveys will be followed by public meetings to disclose tabulated results and discuss plans for the future.
The surveys come on the heels of the Paragon Report, paid for by the RRFDC, which found district communities lacked a sense of direction in terms of economic development and planning.