Strategic Plan 2020-2021

Magrath Town Council

Russ Barnett

Gerry BarilBrenda BeckDeVar Dahl

Fernando Morales-LlanBrian OliverRichard Van Ee

Mayor

Council

CAO James Suffredine

Town of Magrath Identity Statements

Mission Statement

“Uniting to build the world’s greatest community.”

Vision Statement

“To promote, protect, and beautify Magrath, making it the hometown of choice for families and businesses.”

Strategic Planning 2020-2021

Strategic planning helps to align the vision of both Council and staff ensuring that everyone understands how they can work together towards a set of common goals and objectives. This alignment helps to ensure that residents of the municipality are receiving the highest level of attainment and output possible from its elected council and municipal staff.

More typically, a strategic plan would be undertaken immediately following an election cycle and a long-range four-year strategic plan would be established. However, given the recent appointment of a new Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Magrath, Town Council felt it was prudent to prepare and adopt a short-term strategic plan to guide the Town’s business toward the next cycle. This plan still establishes several long-term overarching goals for the Town, but further establishes a significant number of short-term strategic objectives through an action plan.

A blending of SWOT analyses on specific discussion topics coupled with a broad-spectrum overall Town SOAR analysis were completed over 2 days of strategic discussions amongst the Mayor, Council, and the CAO. Common discussion themes emerged between each analysis and that information was used to help align the strategic goals of the municipality.

A SWOT analysis is an evaluation method for a discussion that looks at the issue from four different aspects. Two of the aspects (strengths and weaknesses) are focused from an internal perspective of the organization while the other two (opportunities and threats) are focused from an external perspective to the organization.

⁕ Reasonable land prices

⁕ Affordably priced housing

⁕ Shovel ready light industrial lots

⁕ Water and wastewater capacity

⁕ Growth and development friendly

Town Council

⁕ Highly skilled professional services available within the community

⁕ Open to hearing non-traditional business opportunities

⁕ Ageing roadway infrastructure

⁕ Not located on a major highway

⁕ Limited resources for marketing

⁕ Limited commercially zoned downtown space available

⁕ Large percentage of workforce population currently commutes to Lethbridge

⁕ Southern Alberta agri-business developments

⁕ Small business and home-based occupations

⁕ Attraction of business and professional developments from Lethbridge

⁕ Proximity to Lethbridge makes “big box store” shopping desirable

⁕ Discouraged mindset of “It won’t work”

⁕ Multiple communities competing for the same development projects

⁕ Stereotyped as a closed off religious community

⁕ Provincial and national economic trends

Consensus was that the Town needs to better market its strengths by focusing its efforts on more specifically understanding what it has to offer the external opportunities that come before it. The Town must also work to mitigate threats like pessimistic attitudes through engagement and building of public confidence in our capacity to succeed.

⁕ Good sports and recreation venues

⁕ Excellent golf course

⁕ Historic landmarks like the Galt Canal Headgate

⁕ Library with an indoor playground

⁕ Excellent parks

⁕ Town campsite

⁕ Currently no year-round restaurant

⁕ Very limited accommodation options

⁕ Mainstreet infrastructure needs beautification

⁕ Tourism materials not developed and marketed well

⁕ Outdated swimming pool

⁕ Lack of wayfaring signs for tourists

⁕ Increased camping potential due to full National Park campsites

⁕ Possible increased field usage with better services such as bathrooms and water at our field sites

⁕ Potential opportunities to increase municipal campsite usage

⁕ Newer facilities in nearby communities

⁕ Off highway access

⁕ Being outpaced by neighbouring communities in amenities

Magrath and southern Alberta have much to offer when it comes to tourism. It is often not felt as such because residents become blinded by the daily treasures that are around them. The Town will seek to better promote its local treasures like the golf course, walking trail, historic Galt Canal Headgates, and greenspaces. The Town will also look long term at better utilization of its campground to be able to attract visitors to town.

⁕ Safe, high achieving schools

⁕ Affordable housing with excellent potable water

⁕ Great public library

⁕ Excellent medical professionals accepting new clients

⁕ Cooperative community

⁕ Excellent parks and recreation opportunities

⁕ Lower recreation costs.

⁕ Safe community

⁕ Minimal local employment opportunities

⁕ Limited advertising

⁕ Likely commute to work

⁕ Possibility for culture shock

⁕ Minimal rental properties

⁕ No local hospital

⁕ Small business opportunities for new residents

⁕ Increased engagement opportunities for the town and regional organizations

⁕ Available lots for sale to build houses

⁕ Economic development

⁕ Increased community diversity

⁕ Engagement with and participation by the community

⁕ An external stereotype as a closed religious community.

⁕ A loss of local identity

⁕ The possibility for racism or a negative feeling towards new residents

⁕ Gentrification and the eventual loss of our affordable property values.

⁕ A big change from the “way things have been done in the past”

Magrath is a natural choice for residential development and consensus was that as a Town we must do more to grow. In the short term, the Town will look to purchase land in areas easily serviced. A phased subdivision approach to creating lots will then become a priority. There was further consensus that the strengths that Magrath possesses to be a first-choice destination are not touted or marketed as well as other communities have been able to achieve.

A SOAR analysis is an evaluation method used in strategic planning that looks at an organization from 3 vantage points. What are the organization’s strengths? What are its opportunities? And what are its aspirations? With that information, and different than a SWOT analysis, it finally asks participants what are the results that must be achieved. The process is done through asking a list of questions for each section and defining a consensus statement from those answers.

Magrath is a friendly, safe, tolerant, and close-knit community that prides itself on its local heritage, green spaces, and recreational opportunities. The community is blessed with excellent schools, sports, culture, and social programs, high quality drinking water and municipal services, world class golfing, recreational trails, and land for growth.

The Town of Magrath has abundant opportunities for growth. There is tremendous potential for residential lot developments and development in the shovel ready light industrial lots. The Town also has the potential to increase its collaboration and civic engagement between administration and community stakeholders.

The Town wants to be a first-choice destination for people looking to live in southern Alberta and raise a family.

The Town is to publish a first of what is to become an annual report on the achievements of the Town for the previous year. This report is also to set progress measurement indicators for the next year. Administration is to look for opportunities to engage the public with more information about the business of the town. Town Council is to look for opportunities to leverage the Town’s identified strengths onto every opportunity that comes before it.

2020-21 Action plan

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Administration and

Planning

Clean Financial Audit Maintain a high fiduciary responsibility, with regular

filing and proper records management.

Unqualified 2019 Auditors report.

Secure and protected

digital file and data

storage

Engage with a technology consultant to review and

provide a report on the current town network.

Review and update systems and policies based on

recommendations of the consultant’s report.

Build trust between the

Town Administration and

residents

Increase administrative transparency and provide the

public with easier access to information

Put the audited financial statements for the Town onto our

website for public viewing.

Establish usage policies for facilities and publish online.

Develop a social media strategic plan and usage policy.

Engage residents with more information on online media

platforms.

Maintain a strong financial

department

Ensure that the towns accounts payable and receivable

personnel can complete their required duties

Purchase a new water meter reader to streamline and

reduce dependency on legacy and out of date hardware.

Develop MGA compliant

capital and financial plans.

Town managers and contracted accounting staff work

together to produce the required documents

Council adopted plans which are available for public

viewing on the Town’s website.

2020-21 Action plan

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Economic Development Support community

growth

Ensure there is a good selection of available lots

available for Residential, Commercial, and Industrial

buyers

Purchase land and begin a new residential subdivision.

Work with regional partners to market and find potential

purchasers for the serviced industrial lots.

List for sale the former Town Hall as a potential site for

future commercial development.

Share the “Magrath secret”

with the outside world.

Engage with local and regional community groups and

institutions about the benefits of living in Magrath

Pursue opportunities with the Westwind School Division

about the possibility for growth with both the agricultural

curriculum offering and potential for international students.

Engage with local business, church, and volunteer

community groups to market the benefits of living in

Magrath.

Engage with regional groups about the benefits of living in

Magrath.

2020-21 Action plan

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Infrastructure Maintain safe

transportation roadways

Maintain all roadways throughout the Town. Patch,

grade, pave and oil roadways as funds and block L.I.P.’s

are available.

Purchase road maintenance equipment as laid out by the

Town’s capital plan.

Proceed with L.I.P. votes for blocks which are ready for

pavement based on the Town’s paving policy.

Oil and pack dirt roads as Usage and budgeted funds

permit.

Water Distribution

System

Maintain safe and efficient

water systems

Plan out, monitor and replace distribution lines to meet

the needs of the community.

Apply for grant funding to create a redundancy loop for the

water system.

Continue to monitor and attempt to find and fix leaks in the

water system with a goal of a 5% reduction in treated water

loss year over year until the system has a ratio of less than

25% loss.

2020-21 Action plan

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Tourism Have a desirable Town

atmosphere

Ensure visitors can find local places of interest Investigate the costs to install and design a template for

wayfaring signs as a future budget consideration.

Support the growth of

accommodations and service

businesses in Town

Increase and have better utilization of the Town’s

campground

Provide Travel Alberta tourism training notices to the

community.

Investigate and implement if feasible an online reservation

system for the Town’s community campground.

Work directly with potential local entrepreneurs and the

Chamber of Commerce to maximize entrepreneurship

opportunities and training.

Start an awareness campaign Ensure regional visitors are aware of our Community Create a brochure that highlights the town’s summer amenities

such as the golf course, fish pond, camp site, indoor playground,

town celebration, Galt Canal and trail network.

2020-21 Action plan

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Parks and Recreation Construct a new pool

facility for the town of

Magrath

Pursue matching grants to fund the project Successfully obtain enough grant and community funding to

begin construction.

Keep current swimming

pool running for 2020

Continue to operate old pool until new pool funding is

secured

Purchase a new pool boiler to maintain regulatory sanitary

pool conditions. A special priority is that a new boiler

purchased is forward compatible and can be used as part of

a new facility.

Upgrades to the Magrath

Cemetery

Improve the overall appearance, signage, and options

for the cemetery

Purchase and install a columbarium at the cemetery

providing a new option for burial.

Installation of irrigation at the cemetery.

Development of row markers and plot map with a gazebo

and bench area.

Create unique outdoor

recreational opportunities

Follow the Trails Master Plan to create a world class

and unique to Southern Alberta walking trail.

Investigate the possibility of outdoor skating areas

Connect the trail onto the east side of the tunnel and up to

1st Ave S.

Inquire with Town’s insurance as to the possibility of “Use at

your own risk” skating on the North stormwater drainage

pond.

2020-21 Action plan

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Parks and Recreation

continued

Lions Park upgrade Improve the overall safety of the park apparatus Remove unsafe park apparatus as deemed by provincial

regulators.

Install “Apollo” park equipment at the site.

Dig out and fill with gravel or wood chips around the swings

and other apparatus as deemed required.

Maintain green spaces

around town more

efficiently

Ensure equipment is safe, and mechanically sound, and

meets the operational needs of the municipality

Purchase a new heavy-duty lawn mower capable of quickly

cutting ditches and open grassland areas.

Encourage the “greening”

of Magrath Plant more trees in the community

Create a Tree Planting Initiative and Town boulevard

planting policy to be followed up with local community

volunteers wishing to start such an initiative.

Investigate planting trees along the north entrance of Town

to determine future costs and feasibility.

2020-21 Action plan

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Fire and Emergency

Preparedness Fire Risk Management

Flood Risk Management

Reduce fire risk

Reduce flood risk

Participate jointly with Cardston County other communities

to hire a Regional Fire Services Coordinator.

Monitor the newly created storm water drainage pond to

determine if it sufficiently meets the community’s

requirements or if more flood risk mitigation is necessary.

Emergency Risk

Management

Update and maintain the emergency plan procedures to

respond to a major event

Appoint a Director of Emergency Management.

Review the current plan to and make updates as resource

capacities require.

Hold a tabletop exercise drill in 2020 for named resources in

the plan.