Annual Report 2012 - Town of Richmond Hill

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2. Engagement
An integral part of achieving the Town’s vision is through community engagement in important
initiatives that affect our future. The People Plan Richmond Hill model, used to develop our
Strategic Plan and Official Plan, is the foundation of the Town’s engagement efforts. In the past
year the Town provided opportunities for engagement on a number of initiatives through the
Town’s three Task Forces, such as the Cultural Plan, the Public Art Policy and the Civic Precinct
project, and on the 2012 Budget.
Advancing Priorities, Policies and Plans
The development of our Cultural Plan was
launched in March 2011 through a discussion
between a wide range of cultural and ethnocultural
stakeholders, Town Council and staff.
A community survey followed with an
opportunity to provide input via hard copy or
online. Subsequent activities enabled in-depth
discussions with residents about the plan’s
development including a community forum to
review the initial findings and directions of the
plan. By the time Council approved it on
December 6, 2011 more than 500 Richmond
Hill residents had contributed to our new
Cultural Plan.
Cultural Plan Engagement
Public art is a highly visible form of culture that
has the ability to create a more vibrant and
dynamic community. During the development
of the Cultural Plan, residents told staff that
they would like to see more public art in
Richmond Hill. In response, the Town launched
the process to create a Public Art Policy in
January 2012. It included community input on
the definition of public art and generating
criteria for where and how art pieces are
selected, commissioned and displayed. The
Public Art Policy will be considered by Council
in June 2012.
Alias Grace Park
We used a similar approach for consultation
on the Town’s 2012 budget. Council and staff
hosted information sessions at Hillcrest Mall
and Bond Lake Arena in January to talk about
this year’s budget and the programs, services
and investments it pays for.
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