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