Culture of Engagement

WHAT WE MEAN

We will regularly engage stakeholders in decision-making, communicate with residents on matters that affect them and build trust among the CSRD member municipalities, electoral areas and our partners.

Expanded social media reach – The CSRD’s public engagement on social media platforms grew by more than 1,000 followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Links from these platforms proved to be an excellent way to increase traffic to the CSRD’s website, helping to draw 36,000 additional views to the webpage over 2019. Two-way engagement with citizens also had a noticeable increase, with citizens asking questions and making requests for information through public social media comments and direct messages. Diligent staff moderation of social media has resulted in a 90 per cent responsiveness rating to public questions. Public participation in CSRD activities, such as public hearings and surveys, has also been enhanced by social media promotion. As well, staff-produced social media videos were introduced, drawing the attention of more viewers than posts with static images.

Golden Aquatics Centre – Progress on this initiative focused primarily on public engagement during 2020. The year began with a more traditional format of information meetings and public open houses, however, the pandemic resulted in the need for a major restructuring to online engagement. An interactive survey developed by project consultant HCMA proved to be a tremendous success. A total of 1,118 completed surveys were received and there were 20,420 page views on the goldenondeck.ca website.

From there, a preferred option for the possible development of a new indoor aquatic facility in Electoral Area A and the Town of Golden has been recommended.

It includes the development of: - a six-lane lap and leisure pool - a hot tub - steam and sauna rooms - a multipurpose room - a design that would accommodate the possible addition of a gymnasium at a future phase. Based on this preferred option, the project will move ahead with refinements to the design and project cost estimates. Public engagement activities will continue in 2021.