Well Christmas time is upon us but the work of the CCRC continues on into the new year. One of the major projects the CCRC is leading into 2008 is a Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Kit (SSAK) that is currently in the pilot stage. The plan is to have 5 or 6 municipalities pilot the facilitated kit at which point the CCRC will evaluate those results and the accompanying feedback to determine if any changes are needed before the process is opened up to all towns around the province. The goal is to have the pilots completed very early in 2008.
The SSAK is designed to be the first step toward the Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) that municipalities will have to complete before the end of 2009 to have continued access to their Gas Tax allocation. The SSAK will help communities identify the areas that need attention for long term sustainability for any given municipality. The ICSP process will include addressing these ongoing issues in an attempt to plan for optimal sustainability while developing a plan that integrates other local and regional planning processes such and RED Board planning. With the ongoing struggle for rural towns to remain viable it is imperative that we work together to ensure the survival of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
Merry Christmas from the CCRC
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Regional Cooperation on the move
Municipalities from around the province are becomming more aware of the various possibilities of regional cooperation and service sharing. This is great news for CCRC as it provides great support for the work that we do. In the recent weeks I have visited two areas exploring very different levels of cooperation. The first meeting of note was in the New-Wes-Valley area where towns are interested in exploring different ways of working together for the benifit of the entire region. Nearby on Fogo Island the existing Towns and the Regional Council have created a new committee to explore the possibilities of cooperative future governance on the Island. Through the CCRC the group has released the following update:
"Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative
The Newly formed Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative met for the first time on December 10th, 2007. The group is composed of 11 representatives drawn from each of the Town Councils and the Regional Council to ensure representation from all communities on the Island. The mandate of this group is to explore the possibilities of the future municipal governance for the whole of Fogo Island through a detailed needs assessment and resident consultations. The Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative is determined to move forward with the involvement of the people of Fogo Island toward a more sustainable future based around increased cooperation. They have chosen Gerald Mckenna from the Regional Council as Chair and Ed Walbourne from the Town Council of Fogo as the Vice Chair to ensure the group operates in an efficient and effective manner. The group has identified the need to create sub-committees to investigate major issues including Finance, Administration, Governance, Infrastructure, Recreation, Communication and Economic development. The process must be fluid and adaptable as the needs of the whole Island are assessed. There is a considerable amount of study and consultation required before any course of action can be recommended and this new Initiative will be busy in the new year examining the current status of the existing municipal structure and exploring the future needs of all the residents of Fogo Island. Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador is providing assistance through the Community Cooperation Resource Center and the Department of Municipal Affairs will also be involved in the process."
Great work by the communities of Fogo Island!
Beyond these two areas the CCRC, through Kelly Vodden also recently visitied the Eastport area to take part in a meeting geared toward increased regional cooperation. Check back to follow the regional cooperation projects ongoing around newfoundland and Labrador.
Cheers,
Ryan Lane
CCRC Program Officer
"Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative
The Newly formed Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative met for the first time on December 10th, 2007. The group is composed of 11 representatives drawn from each of the Town Councils and the Regional Council to ensure representation from all communities on the Island. The mandate of this group is to explore the possibilities of the future municipal governance for the whole of Fogo Island through a detailed needs assessment and resident consultations. The Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative is determined to move forward with the involvement of the people of Fogo Island toward a more sustainable future based around increased cooperation. They have chosen Gerald Mckenna from the Regional Council as Chair and Ed Walbourne from the Town Council of Fogo as the Vice Chair to ensure the group operates in an efficient and effective manner. The group has identified the need to create sub-committees to investigate major issues including Finance, Administration, Governance, Infrastructure, Recreation, Communication and Economic development. The process must be fluid and adaptable as the needs of the whole Island are assessed. There is a considerable amount of study and consultation required before any course of action can be recommended and this new Initiative will be busy in the new year examining the current status of the existing municipal structure and exploring the future needs of all the residents of Fogo Island. Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador is providing assistance through the Community Cooperation Resource Center and the Department of Municipal Affairs will also be involved in the process."
Great work by the communities of Fogo Island!
Beyond these two areas the CCRC, through Kelly Vodden also recently visitied the Eastport area to take part in a meeting geared toward increased regional cooperation. Check back to follow the regional cooperation projects ongoing around newfoundland and Labrador.
Cheers,
Ryan Lane
CCRC Program Officer
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Busy doesn't quite capture it
As the flagship project of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador the CCRC has a responsibility to remain vigilant in its efforts to assist communities to develop cooperative efforts of varied size and scope. The CCRC is always interested in improving communication with municipalities especially with regard to CCRC activities and new cooperative efforts across the province. What better way to improve the flow of communication than through the newest form of digital media, the blog.
As I write this primere entry I have just facilitated the first Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit with the Town of St. Anthony and I have only just arrived back from a research trip to Iceland. That's only in the past 2 weeks! Next week includes work in New-Wes-Valley and then Change Islands and Fogo Island. Busy doesn't quite capture it. Through this blog I'll update the regular activities of the CCRC starting with the Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit pilots and the Iceland trip and including regional efforts of service sharing from around the province.
Today the Town of St. Anthony became the first municipality in the province to complete the Sustainability Self-Assessment Kit (SSAK) developed by the CCRC intended to be the first step of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) that municipalities will have to complete by the end of 2009 to access long term gas tax funding. It is quite appropriate then that St. Athony be the first town to complete the SSAK as Mayor Boyd Noel today informed me that they were the first municipality to access the currently available gas tax funding. The SSAK is a basic evaluation tool for municipalities and in later posts I'll give more detail about the SSAK and the ongoing pilot process. During the pilot process I will be gathering input from the participatiing municipalities to improve the SSAK and I'm glad to report that the town of St. Anthony was pleased with the existing SSAK and indicated that it will be a usefull tool for long term planning.
That should be sufficient for a brief introduction to the CCRC but be assured I'll update regularly with relevant cooperation information and activities that the CCRC is engaged in.
Cheers
As I write this primere entry I have just facilitated the first Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit with the Town of St. Anthony and I have only just arrived back from a research trip to Iceland. That's only in the past 2 weeks! Next week includes work in New-Wes-Valley and then Change Islands and Fogo Island. Busy doesn't quite capture it. Through this blog I'll update the regular activities of the CCRC starting with the Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit pilots and the Iceland trip and including regional efforts of service sharing from around the province.
Today the Town of St. Anthony became the first municipality in the province to complete the Sustainability Self-Assessment Kit (SSAK) developed by the CCRC intended to be the first step of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) that municipalities will have to complete by the end of 2009 to access long term gas tax funding. It is quite appropriate then that St. Athony be the first town to complete the SSAK as Mayor Boyd Noel today informed me that they were the first municipality to access the currently available gas tax funding. The SSAK is a basic evaluation tool for municipalities and in later posts I'll give more detail about the SSAK and the ongoing pilot process. During the pilot process I will be gathering input from the participatiing municipalities to improve the SSAK and I'm glad to report that the town of St. Anthony was pleased with the existing SSAK and indicated that it will be a usefull tool for long term planning.
That should be sufficient for a brief introduction to the CCRC but be assured I'll update regularly with relevant cooperation information and activities that the CCRC is engaged in.
Cheers
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