A new website to help increase community engagement has been launched by the Town of Sylvan Lake.
The website which acts as a public engagement system was first identified as a need by the communications department, communications officer Jared Waldo said.
The website will provide many ways to help provide engagement opportunities.
“Engage.sylvanlake.ca showcases the Town’s most important projects. Future projects will allow online public engagement through a variety of tools such as forums, polls, guest books, stories and ideas.”
The site also features many ways for registered users to comment including:
- Question sections: where users will be able to post questions and get answers from staff.
- Map Question sections: where residents will be able to drop a pin to comment or ask a question about a specific location within the project area.
- Surveys: where users will be able to provide feedback by answering survey questions.
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The site isn’t just for community members to use, Waldo said.
“The site also allows visitors, business owners and other stakeholders to register and give input. This is important to get a clear picture of how projects impact tourism, our local economy and neighbouring communities.”
The hope for the site is for it to:
- Create an inclusive and safe environment to foster conversation with residents.
- Increase transparency by improving how project information and updates are shared therefore helping residents to stay up to date.
- Create an asked/answered environment where when users ask questions others who have similar questions can see the answers provided.
- Allow for information to be easily shared with social media share buttons.
In the process to create the site the town went through a quote process considering five difference public engagement system providers before choosing Bang the Table, Waldo said.
“Bang the Table which was highly recommended by other municipalities, provided the most features at the best price. Bang the Table also had the simplest interface for residents and was mobile friendly.”
Major projects and opportunities for public input will be published on the site as they occur.
Residents of Sylvan Lake are invited to register for opportunities to have their say on new projects as well as to stay tuned about what is happening in the community.
@sarahbaker
sarah.baker@blackpress.ca
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