With a city that’s growing by as many leaps and bounds as Leduc is, there’s a multitude of new faces in the area. The City of Leduc is engaging with citizens to learn more about, and from, new faces and those who’ve called the city home for years.
“Conversations over Coffee: Let’s Talk Neighbourhoods” will host two community meetings in November to gather input from citizens of Leduc, both those who are new and those who are long-time residents of the city.
FCSS research and social development coordinator Tabitha White said the sessions serve a twofold purpose.
“It came about because of a few things going on,” said White by phone Oct. 22. She said Leduc has seen as much growth as any community in Alberta recently. There’s been lots of growth, lots of new neighbourhoods and lots of new residents.
White said FCSS wants to gather information from residents on existing neighbourhood connections and discuss the benefits of such connections.
Secondly, FCSS would like to hear from residents about what services could be provided from the department to residents.
“It’s really about engaging them and moving forward,” said White. “I’d like to see a diverse group. People newer to the country who have experiences from elsewhere to share.” White said organizers would also like to see long time residents who have solid relationships with their neighbours and can share insights into that.
The conversations will be held on two different days, Tuesday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 7. White said organizers wanted to try a weekday and a weekend to get as wide and diverse a group as possible. “We know everybody is busy too,” she said. Nov. 3 will be an evening session, and Nov. 7 will start Saturday morning.
There will be some child-minding available for the Saturday meeting and White noted the meetings will be under an hour and a half long.
The Tuesday, Nov. 3 meeting will be held at the Days Inn, while the Saturday, Nov. 7 one will be held at the Leduc Public Library. Both venues are wheelchair accessible. The meetings are open to any residents, but White said she’d like people to register ahead of time so organizers know how many to expect, whether child-minding is requested or if getting to sites is an issue. She can be reached at 780-980-7109 or through email (twhite@leduc.ca).
Data collected from the meetings will be used to develop a three year plan that will be made available to those who are interested.
White said it’s hoped more “Conversations over Coffee” could be held in the future.