The Ministry of Rural Affairs’ First Impressions Group Alternate (FICE) program might help communities achieve contemporary views and distinctive insights based mostly on how first-time guests interact in and expertise their neighborhood.
The FICE program entails members of 1 neighborhood visiting one other taking part neighborhood, and reporting their ideas on areas of enchancment, alternatives and successes to one another. This supplies communities with insights on learn how to enhance numerous features of their neighborhood, in addition to validate applications and actions which can be already being undertaken or deliberate. This data is consolidated right into a report and a presentation.
The City of Petawawa was matched with the Municipality of North Grenville, and so they accomplished their FICE in summer season of 2024. Visits between the 2 communities had been performed between June 14 and July 16, 2024.
Christine Mitchell, Supervisor of Financial Improvement and Rudy Kadlec, Financial Improvement Coordinator offered the FICE report again from North Grenville at Petawawa’s Council-in-Committee Assembly on September twenty third, 2024, highlighting key findings on what the North Grenville guests’ first impressions had been of their municipality. Feedback about Petawawa from FICE respondents famous:
- lovely winding roads, mature bushes, and scenic drives, particularly alongside entrances off the 417
- well-used and maintained multi-use pathways
- massive industrial chains alongside Petawawa Boulevard
- lack of a standard downtown core
Along with offering their first impressions, the guests additionally recognized potential alternatives to the City of Petawawa:
- extra store native promotion – improve digital integration in retailer fronts and tourism, reminiscent of QR codes in retailer home windows and using on-line directories for native vacationer locations
- tree trimming round signage on the completely different entrances to the City, and improved wayfinding signage to important points of interest
- proceed beautification efforts alongside Petawawa Boulevard
- diversify the native economic system by attracting/increasing companies in all sectors
The report offered extra suggestions on the neighborhood parks, neighbourhoods, housing and residential areas score them as glorious or good.
Petawawa Mayor Gary Serviss responded to the report saying, “It’s nice to see that almost all of their impressions had been optimistic as a result of that’s how we really feel about Petawawa.”
He added, “All of us drive round this city and we’re not essentially being attentive to signage and issues like that, so I feel this (neighborhood trade) is a implausible concept.”
Christine Mitchell, Supervisor of Financial Improvement, stated, “We worth the FICE program outcomes and the suggestions provided from our accomplice neighborhood visits. We’re dedicated to persevering with work to boost our guests’ expertise guaranteeing we proceed to exemplify our motto Dynamic by Nature.”
The Council-in-Committee recorded assembly that includes the FICE presentation may also be considered on-line right here.
Extra data on the First Impressions Group Alternate program may be discovered on our web site right here.
