Powell River Regional District’s ambitious strategic plans will need to be tempered with patience while the regional board moves through its four-year term.
During a special committee of the whole meeting to review strategic planning, early May, Colin Palmer, committee chair, said he wanted to go through the regional district’s strategic items so the committee understands what’s there, and then move onto the goals and actions for 2015. In reviewing the district’s 2015 undertakings, a number are carried over from 2014.
Palmer reminded regional board members that they were elected for four years and were six months into the mandate.
“We’ve got plenty of time,” he said. “We don’t have to do it all in one year. Some of the 2014 projects were finished and some weren’t.” Directors, in looking at the first year, might want to think in terms of 18 months rather than 12, he added.
Patrick Brabazon, board chair and Electoral Area A director, said he was confused by the strategic plan exercise. If there was anything on the current strategic plan list that was not included in the regional district’s strategic planning, then he thinks the committee should discuss it, but if it was included in the original strategic planning exercise and has been budgeted, he wondered why it was being discussed.
Palmer said he was suspicious that not everyone was clear about what steps are to be undertaken in implementing the strategic plan.
“Well, your suspicions are one thing, but we are spending public money here on something that we have already done,” Brabazon said. “We went through a strategic planning session, we agreed with the outcome, and now I get the feeling we are trying to manage what we agreed to, and that’s not our role.
“I’m a little puzzled as to why we are here. If there’s something here that I didn’t agree to then point it out.”
Brabazon said when it gets down to the nitty gritty, the expectation is the regional district staff will come forward to regional directors with a proposal about how to implement it.
CaroleAnn Leishman, city director, said her understanding following the board’s strategic planning session held earlier this year was that a follow-up was required. She said when all of the board members’ wishes were put on sticky notes on the wall during the planning session, there were no dates or direction attached to them.
“My understanding is this is an initial get together to break down our list of things,” she said. “Our strategic plan was massive.”
Brenda Paquin, manager of administrative services, said at the strategic planning session it was generally discussed that in September, the board was going to get together and review the 2015 to 2018 strategic plan, and put some dates and timelines to them.
Sandy McCormick, Electoral Area D director, said what she was hearing is that all of the lists from the strategic plan need refining because not all of the items are necessary.
“The list could actually be reduced quite substantially,” she said.
Laura Roddan, manager of planning, said her understanding from the strategic planning session was that staff would have until September to finish the carryover from last year.
It’s important not to get lost in the details, but focus on the priorities, then the goals, she added.
Palmer said the directors were given lists and he wondered what should be done with them.
“You’ve explained it. It sounds pretty good to me.”
Paquin reminded the committee that at the April regional board meeting the strategic plan was adopted, which indicates to staff that the goals have been sanctioned. She said what now needs to be decided is how to pare down the action items within the goals of each strategic priority.
Russell Brewer, city director, said he had no problem with the strategic plan but agreed that the actions needed to be refined.
Paquin suggested scheduling another meeting to go over the lists so they can be reviewed and refined.
Brabazon said he didn’t think anything further had to be done because the staff has direction of where the board wants them to go.
Palmer said what he was trying to clarify was that after September, there was going to be a refinement of those lists by staff members, directors will see the refinements, and then agree or disagree with them.
