SUMMARY

Fi r st Im pressions is a p rogr am f i r st developed in the 1990 s by the Un iver si ty of W isconsin 's D epar tm en t of Extension , based on local fo lks ? neighbour s ? shar ing thei r obser vat ions of one another ?s com m un i t ies. T he hope was th is would lead to ?a-ha? m om en ts, and tr igger posi t ive act ions to m ake l i fe better in the par t i cipat ing towns.

O ver the year s, hundreds of com m un i t ies in N or th Am er ica have car r ied out Fi r st Im pressions in i t iat ives, none of them sm al ler than the v i l lages of Kaslo, N ew D enver, and Si lver ton , located in Br i t i sh Colum bia's W est Kootenay region .

I n O ctober, 20 17, at the request of the Kaslo & Area and Slocan D istr i ct cham ber s of com m erce, the BC Rur al Cen tre agreed to lead a Fi r st Im pressions p roject that saw six ci t i zens each f rom Kaslo and N ew D enver / Si lver ton v isi t one another 's towns, ar m ed w i th 56 pages of quest ions on top ics r anging f rom thei r r etai l exper iences and encoun ter s w i th locals to thei r obser vat ions on local heal th care; f r om housing and the local econom y to the env i ronm en t.

T he resu l ts of these sur veys were com pi led by the Cham ber s, analyzed by the BC Rur al Cen tre, then p resen ted in publ ic m eet ings, held on O ctober 15, 20 17 in Si lver ton 's M em or ial H al l , and the next day in Kaslo's h istor ic L angham T heatre.

T h is docum en t p rov ides a br ief sum m ar y of the com m un i ty im pressions m ade in N ew D enver / Si lver ton , as wel l as the publ ic d iscussion that took p lace on the 15th of O ctober in Si lver ton 's M em or ial H al l . I t i s our hope that the Fi r st Im pressions exper ience w i l l con tr ibute toward a new sp i r i t of com m un i ty involvem en t, and assist in lead ing to concrete act ions in tended to help ensure the f u ture resi l iency and p rosper i ty of both N ew D enver and Si lver ton .

INTRODUCTION

GENERAL COMMENTSEN T RA N CES Physical ly spectacu lar in al l th ree d i rect ions ? no clear Welcome to New Denver or Welcome to H istoric Downtown signs at

H ighways 31A & 6 junct ion in N ew D enver, som eth ing that needs to be addressed. D i t to at both nor th and south en tr ances in to Si lver ton .

T H E 5-M I N U T E I M PRESSIO N "Serene," "Q uiet ," "Q uain t" com m en ts balanced against "m aybe a l i t t le too quiet" and "not m uch

happen ing" obser vat ions. Stunn ing sett ings, "neat & t idy yards." N ice par ks, t r ai ls, cam pgrounds, lovely Kohan Gardens & N ikkei Cen tre.

H O U SI N G N ice m ix of her i tage & newer hom es, lovely landscap ing (som e of th is done by p rofessionals for the m any second hom e owner s), lots of t r ees. N o sign of m ul t i - f am i ly dwel l ings or sen ior s housing. An apparen t lack of r easonably -p r iced ren tal accom m odat ion and en tr y - level housing were seen as poten t ial chal lenges.

ED U CAT IO N & CO M M U N I T Y SERVI CES "H ard to bel ieve they have such a lar ge, n ice school in a town of th is size," r e. N ew D enver 's L ucer ne School ? low en rol lm en t i s a concer n . A youth cen tre, W or kBC, Si lver ton 's Com m un i ty Ser v ice Cen tre, a hosp ice and a nur ser y school (w i th l im i ted open ing days) are posi t ives. As are or gan izat ions such as the Valhal la W i lder ness Society, the L ucer ne Com m un i ty Educat ion Associat ion , the Slocan D istr i ct Cham ber of Com m erce, and the Slocan Com m un i ty H eal th Care Auxi l lar y. T he l ibr ar y i s on ly open f ive hour s a week.

H EA LT H CA RE "Im pressive f aci l i t ies for such a sm al l p lace," "For tunate to have a hosp i tal at al l , given i ts size.," were som e of the com m en ts. I t i s chal lenging to recr u i t and retain physicians here. Excel len t den t ist in Si lver ton ?  what w i l l happen when he ret i r es?

T H E ECO N O M Y Tour ism appear s to be the sole "industr y " here. Both down towns have som e char m ing per iod bu i ld ings, spoi led som ewhat by a num ber of shuttered , derel i ct p laces. N ice var iety of r etai l , w i th som e "lacks," includ ing h igh speed I n ter net, a real estate of f i ce, hai r salon , m icro brewer y, and m ore outdoor- related businesses. Str i k ing num ber of "closed for season" signs, restaur an ts closed in the even ing for the m ost par t . Seem s as though there is l i t t le wor k avai lable for young peop le. N o clear sense of econom ic d i rect ion or pur pose. For som e locals who are f ine w i th the status quo, "less is more."

PROBLEMS & POSSIBILITIESPRO BL EM S Both these physical ly i solated W est Kootenay v i l lages are f acing sh r ink ing populat ions. Ret i r ees appear to be the dom inan t dem ogr aph ic in both N ew D enver and Si lver ton . Clear ly th is needs to change i f they are to sur v ive as v iable com m un i t ies. T here is a "stuck" v ibe here, a lack of any real sense of v ibr ancy. Both down towns feature a num ber of closed and shuttered bu i ld ings ? there is v i r tual ly noth ing going on in the even ing, w i th ver y few en ter tainm en t oppor tun i t ies for young peop le in par t i cu lar . H ousing, especial ly for younger peop le and ci t i zens gener al ly w i th l im i ted m eans, seem s to be in extrem ely shor t supp ly. T he heal th care si tuat ion is an ongoing concer n . And, cr ucial ly, nei ther v i l lage appear s to have a core str ategy to com bat al l th is ? a clear statem en t of what m akes them un ique, an or gan izing concept wh ich d iscrete in i t iat ives can reference and suppor t ? they appear "al l tact ics and no str ategy." Posi t ive change w i l l have to overcom e the "we l i ke th ings just the way they are" sen t im en t am ong som e residen ts.

PO SSI B I L I T I ES

? Create a housing society or com m un i ty land tr ust as a veh icle to tack le the housing issue.

? Agree on what m akes these com m un i t ies un ique, then bu i ld a developm en t str ategy based on th is.

? Create a developm en t p lan for the H ighway 31A cor r idor in cooper at ion w i th Kaslo, lever aging the area's natur al and h istor ical assets.

? W or k to at t r act businesses that would be l inked w i th the H ighway 31A str ategy.

? Exp lore ways to bu i ld on the success of the annual f al l Gar l i c Fest ival .

? L aunch down town rev i tal i zat ion to include new signage, the creat ion of publ ic spaces, and a concer ted ef for t to at t r act new businesses.

WRAP-UPFEED BACK

T he publ ic m eet ing held at Si lver ton 's M em or ial H al l on N ovem ber 15 was wel l at tended. A l ively d iscussion fol lowed the BC Rur al Cen tre/ Kaslo & Area Cham ber of Com m erce p resen tat ion . Feedback f rom attendees was over whelm ingly posi t ive ? here are a few exam ples:

"T hanks again for such a well presented information session. T he Kaslo group's comments were fair and constructive. I am going to connect with Kaslo InfoNet to find out who they are talking to in Silverton about fibre optics.I hope more folks read the report and are inspired to start thinking about these towns and what we can collectively create for the future." ? Col l een W i l l i am s

"T hanks for an engaging and informative session! Looking forward to some strategic planning sessions and concrete action moving forward."

? D an i k a Sk ye H am m on d

"I applaud the idea of a working connection with Kaslo via the beautiful highway that joins us. I am also inspired by possibly exploring bringing in fibre optic internet via our beautiful lake!" ? D on n a Jean W r i gh t

FU RT H ER I N FO RM AT IO N

? For gener al in for m at ion on r ur al r ev i tal i zat ion , v isi t the Revi tal i zat ion tab on our websi te.

? I n terested in your com m un i ty wor k ing w i th the BC Rur al Cen tre on a Fi r st Im pressions p roject? W e'd be happy to hear f r om you!

i n f o@bcr u r al cen tr e.or g

(250 ) 353-30 16