Visioning by Gerry Karr

Why did we call our website Visioning Penticton? Because those of us who are convinced that We Can Do Better understand that “Better” must be defined, and we believe that can best be done through a visioning process. But first we must understand what a vision is. Many have written on this subject, but a good succinct definition can be found in Wikipedia under the heading Strategic Planning:

[One] approach to defining Vision and Mission is to pose two questions. Firstly, “What aspirations does the organization have for the world in which it operates and has some influence over?”, and following on from this, “What can (and/or does) the organization do or contribute to fulfill those aspirations?”. The succinct answer to the first question provides the basis of the Vision Statement. The answer to the second question determines the Mission Statement (purpose) and the Strategic plan (road map) to achieve the vision.

So, a vision needs to be brief, but it also must contain enough “meat” to guide the subsequent mission statement. To trigger discussion, let me posit that:

In 2030 Penticton will be a flourishing place where people of all ages and with diverse interests and talents will be able to find skilled jobs, affordable housing, and abundant leisure opportunities and amenities. Clean industries that are part of the creative and knowledge-based economy will prefer to locate their business here and as a result of industrial diversification our average income will meet or exceed the provincial average. Our built environment will conserve energy and minimize waste. As a result, our tax base will be sufficiently broad and deep to support the community services and infrastructure we expect from our City and to support the needy. People who live here say: “I enjoy working here and I love living here. I can’t think of a better place to make my home and raise my family”.

Now, if we can agree on something like this as reasonable characteristics of a flourishing City, the question is: how do we get there? One thing is certain: getting there will not happen through our present system of ad hoc planning where our OCP is routinely ignored and amended to accommodate shiny new pennies presented by developers interested only in their short-term gain. Once we agree on what a flourishing Penticton looks like, then we need to design a plan and a road map to get us there, and, most important, we need tenacious and continuous oversight to ensure we stick to our plan and our vision.

The only way we can have confidence that present and future Councils will adhere to such a plan is if it is developed through a process that engages community participation and ownership of the product, and that creates a monitoring process and structure – a kind of Auditor – that reports to but is independent of Council.

Last summer our City, with little fanfare, put together a small committee dominated by Councilors that crafted a Vision Statement. So far as I know it is on the shelf somewhere; I can’t find it on the City website. If it is to be of any value (other than wallpaper), it is critical that our new Council embark, as a matter of priority, on a process of community engagement to create public ownership in a Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan. Only this way can the plan have influence that survives beyond the 3-year life spans of our elected Council’s and their proclivity for short term planning. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful legacy for their tenure of office?

I don’t know about you, but in the coming election, my vote will go to those candidates that can show they understand the importance of a clear and publicly owned vision, mission and strategic plan for our City and will make its achievement a top priority.