Tempo Staff
The Town of Brome Lake released its 2024-28 Strategic Plan on September 4, following its adoption at the September 3 municipal council meeting. The document addresses the town’s current issues, while anticipating future challenges.
The priorities identified include protecting the environment, improving the quality of life of residents, ensuring the harmonious development of the territory and promoting dynamic, sustainable economic development. The Strategic Plan is structured around five major orientations:
Citizen services. The objective is to provide inclusive services that foster a sense of belonging. A number of recreational topics will be addressed, including access to the lake; trail-network improvements; and more winter-season facilities, including possibly extending the season for outdoor skating rinks. This section of the Plan also includes an initiative to maintain the town’s bilingual status by adopting and implementing a language policy.
Economic development. The goal is to boost the local economy by supporting culture and tourism. This will include, among other things, adopting a new tourism action plan; revitalizing the downtown area with wider sidewalks and additional street furniture; and modifying regulations to better control the types of business in the heart of the village. This section also allocates financial and technical support for the extension of the Pettes Memorial Library and the adjacent Coldbrook Park.
Land-use planning. This is to ensure harmonious development by considering residents’ needs. Key housing issues to be addressed include creating a housing policy that addresses the town’s principal development issues; development of an architectural guide that aids developers, investors and citizens; identifying the housing needs of area workers, in collaboration with the local housing authority, MRC Brome-Missisquoi and businesses; as well as measures to clarify and enhance the protection of heritage buildings. Traffic speeding also is on the agenda, with speed limits in the municipality to be reviewed and the possible installation of photo radar.
Ecological transition. A number of environmental and biodiversity issues are addressed, among them measures to ensure the sustainability and quality of the lake water, including water-runoff problems; improvements to the drinking water system; and installation of vehicle charging stations in municipal parking lots.
Governance. The Plan aims to strengthen municipal management by encouraging citizen participation and collaboration with stakeholders. Key among items in this section are a citizen consultation policy; encouraging and supporting volunteering; improving satisfaction and communication among municipal employees; and exploring resource-sharing opportunities with neighbouring municipalities and the MRC in areas such as public transportation, waste management and public safety.
“The creation of this document required a considerable amount of energy to ensure it is based on a solid foundation, thanks notably to extensive consultation and close collaboration between elected officials, municipal administration and the community,” said Mayor Richard Burcombe in the report’s introductory comments. “In order to position ourselves advantageously for the future, the priority issues for the next five years remain the environment and territorial development.”
The Strategic Plan report can be downloaded at https://lacbrome.ca/en/strategic-plan/
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