News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

Mayor Kerry Cook and CAO Brian Carruthers took to the stage at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Convention (FCM) in Toronto on May 29th to receive the national FCM Sustainability Community Award for the City’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP).

According to Mayor Kerry Cook, "We are thrilled to be recognized at the national level for our efforts in developing our ICSP. Credit goes to our staff, consulting team and the community for making our process an award winning success."

Each year, FCM gives out Awards of Excellence for achievements in sustainable development and planning. This year, the Williams Lake ICSP stood out for the innovative public engagement and participation process that was developed by the planning team. "As opposed to the conventional public meeting/open house processes we traditionally use for planning, our staff and consultants went out to a number of community events and venues to get broader participation from our residents," states CAO Brian Carruthers.

The ‘Imagine our Future’ initiative set the stage for the ICSP by having residents describe how they would like to see our community in 2030. Interested community partners were then brought together in a series of ‘Café’ style meetings to develop strategies to get our community to the desired state in ten key priority areas. This phase of the project is referred to as ‘Creating our Future’ and will provide a basis for the review of the City’s Official Community Plan this summer and fall.

The ICSP will not only influence the creation of a new Official Community Plan but will also provide a valuable tool that will be used by staff and Council to ensure sustainability principles are considered in future decision making.

Following receipt of the award, the Mayor and CAO participated in a round-table presentation on Monday in Toronto, speaking with conference delegates from across Canada about the Williams Lake ICSP project. The City’s trophy will be on display in City Hall along

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