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THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009 0 JASPER, AB, the fitzhugh 9

Hinton setto launchsustainability plan

By AMY WILSON-CHAPMANReporter

Its the Town ofHintons turn to develop a 30year Community Sustainability Plan (CSP),which according to a statement issued bythe town, will leave a positive legacy forfuture generations.

The plan will provide an opportunityfor all citizens to engage and definetheir vision of Hinton... to collectivelyadvance clear priorities and continue toprogressively move forward, said Mayorof Hinton Glenn Taylor.

To kick start the plan and communityengagement, Hintonites are being asked,what do you value about Hinton and areatoday? and what is your vision for Hintonand area in 30 years?

Also, the town is currently seeking peopleto form the Citizens Advisory Group whichwill actively engage Hintonites throughoutthe process.

Were advertising for an advisory groupto work on sustainable principles. The cut offis August 13, said Wendy Lesser, municipalsustainability co-ordinator for the townof Hinton. Well have between 11 and 13members and want a full representation ofthe five pillars of sustainability.The town hopes to have working groupsformed by September, with the plan unveiledto the public by May 2010, Lesser said.The CSP will address the social, economic,cultural, environmental, and governancequestions which are the five pillars of theAlberta Urban Municipalities Associationis encouraging communities to considerwhen making decisions about the sustainabledevelopment of their communities.

Lesser said the town is looking tolearn from other communities that arecurrently rewriting their developmentplans, such as Jasper.Weve learned a lot of lessons fromother municipalities, who tell us the overallchallenge is engagement, Lesser said.The plan, which looks forward 30 years,will identify short, medium and long termactions for implementation and will bereviewed annually, according to the town.Rather than call the project a developmentplan the former title fo r su ch documents,Hinton chose to follow a sustainability planframework in hope of achieving greaterinvolvement from the community.

Lesser said shes already fielded a numberof calls from those looking to join theworking group. To be eligible, citizens mustlive in Hinton.Anyone wanting to be on the CitizensAdvisory Group is asked to visit www.hinton.ca by August 13 and people can starttaking part in the plan by visiting the same

website. - Withjulesfrom Justin Brisbane