WESTLOCK – More than 40 Tawatinaw-area residents joined Westlock County staff and councillors for the municipality’s second of four open houses June 14 at the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Chalet.
Reeve Christine Wiese provided opening remarks and introductions from county departments and welcomed ratepayers for the two-hour event that saw residents ask about programs and services and connect with county staff. In addition to the county departments, the event also featured booths from Westlock and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), the Westlock Library and Citizens on Patrol. Last week open houses were also held June 12 in Busby and June 15 in Vimy, with the final one slated to run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., June 20, in Jarvie.
The Pellerin family from the Tawatinaw area was one of several that came out, with Chelsea “who grew up on the ski hill” looking for information on programs for her family. She was happy to see different booths set up with county staff providing information, along with several elected representatives.
“I wanted to get more information on the community initiatives and what groups we have,” said Pellerin. “You can only find so much information on Facebook and nothing beats face-to-face conversations and connections. I think it’s really great to just help people connect and connect with the organizations that are in the community and also connect with each other,” she said.
Wiese noted the good attendance of close to 30 people at the first open house in Busby June 12 and commented on the “even better attendance” in Tawatinaw.
“We’re really happy that we had some community support and here it looks like we’ve even increased that support already tonight,” said Wiese, noting she met a family that just moved to the valley from northern B.C. “This is an awesome way for us to be able to connect with them and let them know about (the county).”
Wiese also said the event also gave residents, many who question what is done with money collected, a way to see where their taxes go.
“I’m so proud of the county staff, they’ve worked really hard to be here and we’re all really excited for the opportunities,” she said.
In addition, the open house provided opportunities for residents to ask questions and meet with staff who fielded their concerns and inquiries.
“We don’t want to discuss and debate online. We want you to be able to feel comfortable to come in or pick up the phone, talk to your councillor or if you don’t feel comfortable talking to your division councillor, then reach out to whoever you do feel comfortable with,” said Wiese. “We’re here, we’re real people, we were elected by you, and we just want to do a good job.”
Wiese said the open houses are a collaborative effort between the county departments, CAO Tony Kulbisky and councillors who will keep notes of the comments and questions at each event and will conduct a debriefing in the next week or two “to learn where we are hitting the mark and where are we maybe not hitting the mark.”
“I’m so hoping that we can continue this each year. This is our first run at it, so we are still getting the quirks out of everything, but I think everybody’s done a really good job,” said Wiese. “We’re proud of where we work and proud of where we’re from and we’re hoping to build a better community.”
