City Hall Open House - A chance to participate

Democracy is much more than elections. It is about participation, about getting involved in your community. One of the easiest ways to get involved is at the municipal level. The politicians and decision makers are much accessible. Red Deer is doing a good job at ensuring that our local decision makers are accessible and the City Hall Open House (On May 18, 2011) is a great example of this.

It was obvious that they planned for a small event and they got a small crowd. But this did ensure that City Hall staff, councilors, managers and the Mayor were easily accessible. I wish more people would participate in these events. Its a great opportunity to learn more about how our city operates. And some staff were genuinely there to listen to feedback. Its a place to ensure your voice is heard.

Red Deer has so much going for it. Its easy to get around, it has amazing recreation facilities and the infrastructure is kept in pretty good shape. I was able to share this tonight with city staff and counselors. I found out why we are still stuck with a city hall that was built for a city of 40,000 people. My wife was amazed that 36% of the city's budget is spent on policing and emergency services. And city staff, like myself are very proud of our park system.

I had an interesting discussion with another citizen who wants to enhance our facilities for competitive sport. Now, I am purely a recreatational user. I have no idea if my children will be interested in competitive sport. He said that recreational users will use competitive facilities but competitive users can't use recreational facilities. I see his point, but I am unsure if we have the density to fully use competitive facilities. But I think we should try and prioritize a full use aquatics centre. We just need to make sure we can afford it.

So I hope the city hosts more of these events and that Red Deerians will seize on this opportunity to learn more about the services in our city and provide feedback to city staff and politicians.