By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The Town of Brome Lake unveiled its new strategic plan on Sept. 4, setting out its priorities for the years 2024-2028.
The plan was developed after a wide-ranging survey, three public meetings and consultations with citizens’ committees, the business community and various community organizations over the past year, explained Deputy Mayor Lee Patterson, president of the town’s urban planning committee. Through community organizations, teenagers and seniors were also included in the consultations.
Housing affordability, the health of the lake and access to services for youth and young families were top priorities for a wide range of citizens, Patterson said; business owners also raised concerns about recruiting staff and finding places for them to live.
The plan, released last week in both French and English, lays out a brief demographic portrait of the municipality, its six districts, 206.9 square kilometres of territory, 2,830 households, 192 businesses and 11 public parks. It included data showing that the town’s population growth was expected to slow in the next few years, and its average age, already among the highest in Quebec at 52.8, was expected to increase further. It laid out a brief vision statement for the municipality: “In the heart of nature, Brome Lake is defined by its bucolic living environment, its bilingual and inclusive community, its rich heritage, its healthy lake and its sustainable development.” Its mission statement read, “Proud of its history and natural setting, the Town of Brome Lake offers efficient and responsible services in a desirable living environment to a forward-looking community.”
The mission statement, vision statement and the town’s five stated values – respect, transparency, integrity, resilience and leadership – are expected to inform the next five years of policy.
Concretely, according to Patterson, the town’s priorities include updating its urban plan and making its website more user-friendly and improving tools used for public consultation.
“If you base [participation in municipal life] on the number of people coming to council, there are not that many people, but when you get 1200 people out of [a population of] 6000 to participate in a survey, that’s huge,” Patterson said. “There was a large interest for municipal affairs and learning how local government works, and that surprised us a bit. We’re going to have to develop more ways not just to say ‘thanks for your input,’ but to allow more citizen participation in the evolution of the steps.”
The town laid out a strategic plan including objectives for social, economic and land development; environment; and governance over the next five years. Listed objectives included maintaining the town’s bilingual status, improving access to the lake, “enhancing recreational offerings” for citizens, adopting a new tourism action plan, revitalizing the downtown core by widening sidewalks and adding outdoor furniture, developing an “architectural guide for investors, developers and citizens,” developing public awareness tools on lake protection, implementing further protection measures for water sources, installing more electric vehicle charging stations, enhancing the participatory budget program, making council meetings more accessible and adopting a formal citizen participation policy, all within the next five years.
“We have to do things a bit differently on how we present [projects] to citizens, because if we have a long-drawn-out Powerpoint presentation, people are not going to stay engaged for that long,” Paterson said. It’s important to stay abreast of what’s going on … if we maximize public participation [when decisions are made], it avoids surprises in the future,” Patterson said.
Patterson advised citizens who want to get more involved in town affairs or keep track of the evolution of the strategic plan to “subscribe to our newsletter, attend a council meeting or two, ask questions, speak with your councillor or get in touch with the town clerk’s office.”
The full strategic plan is available on the town website.