Summer Villages on Sylvan Lake finally concluded its hunt for a new office space in mid-August with their relocation to a bigger centre, while also taking this opportunity to re-brand.
Summer Villages on Sylvan Lake’s CAO, Tanner Evans, shared, “Our previous office was in an industrial area and never really served our needs. There was no dedicated Council chambers area, so any meetings were fairly disruptive for staff - also there was no wheelchair access for public meetings. We had parking issues, no room for expansion, it was hard for residents and guests to find, and we had no larger meeting area for hearings or joint meetings with the other partner municipalities around the lake (we would meet in the garage storage bay in the back).” He added, “The hunt for a new building had been undertaken 4 or 5 years ago and we finally settled on our new location and went to work. Our councils felt that the location was ideal for our residents as it is just off the highway. This building had the potential to solve all of the issues we had with the old building and allow us room for expansion, so we think it could be a location we will remain in for some time.”
Evans shared that their new office location provides ample of space for storage. “We also finally have enough parking. The design of the floor plan allows for a few open spaces where furniture can be rearranged to allow for bigger meetings, annual information meetings, public hearings and engagement, etc. In the past we had to rent out rooms in the NexSource center for these kind of events,” he added.
The purchase of this building and its subsequent renovations were entirely covered under the Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) provincial grant funding, shared Evans. Given the requirement to seek permission when one municipality wishes to own property in another, he clarified that the town granted them permission for this purchase.
Evans shared that with their office moving to a new space, he felt it was a viable opportunity to re-brand. “I figured that since we would be changing all of our letterheads and stationary due to the new address, it would be a good time to update our branding as well. Previously we were called the “Summer Village Administration”. In Alberta, there are actually 51 Summer Villages which are each their own municipality. I found that our branding was a bit confusing as we did not identify which Summer Villages we serve. For that reason, we went with “Summer Villages on Sylvan Lake”. The logo just needed an update, so we went with a design and colour scheme that is reminiscent of the lake - the sun setting as the font gets thinner and thinner with the blue green waves. We’ve tried to keep that bright, beachy feeling with the interior design of the office as well,” he shared.
There are five villages around Sylvan Lake, which include Birchcliff, Half Moon Bay, Jarvis Bay, Norglenwold, and Sunbreaker Cove.