Wide ranging discussion at town’s strategic planning session

By Ron Giofu

The Town of Amherstburg is developing a new strategic plan and held a workshop last week to discuss the direction of the project.

Sabine Matheson and Olivia Lahaie from StrategyCorp were before town council last Tuesday evening to discuss survey and interview results and the stage of the process the town is in now. The three-hour workshop also saw a “SWOT” analysis presented, which meant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. There was also a chance for a draft outline of a strategic plan to be reviewed as well as the vision, mission and values.

“Tonight is a really important night in the process,” Matheson told town council at the start of the meeting.

If a “SWOT” analysis is done correctly, Matheson said “it actually suggests what your plan is.”

Among the data presented by Matheson and Lahaie, it included survey results which showed there were 208 responses, of which 95 per cent described themselves as full-time or retired members of the community. Results were split into the urban core and the former townships, with 38 per cent of respondents living in the urban portion of town, 30 per cent coming from the former Anderdon township while 29 per cent came from the former Malden township.

Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb asked how the 208 responses to the community survey compared to other municipalities of similar size.

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