The mayoress of Casselman discusses the recently published Parks and recreation Master Plan

The mayoress of Casselman discusses developments, which includes publishing the park's master plan and encouraging discussion groups to increase the community's participation in council meetings.

Jade Laviolette - Local journalism initiative

Geneviève Lajoie talks about steps being made to develop Casselman, putting an emphasis on two of the new Park’s Master Plan’s use of some of the town's green space and the building of a new walking path. In addition to the town's plans for new developments, the mayoress expressed her hopes to increase community engagement through discussion groups.  

Developing Casselman
When the mayoress was asked about her efforts to develop business settlements following the opening of a new gym in Casselman, she responded by saying that she hopes to naturally attract businesses with the town's development: “[...] the biggest thing is working on the [sentier], the bird's eye view path in Casselman [...], so that’s going to be a beautiful attraction to the people, which will also help bring in businesses as well.”

Along with the project to develop a walking path in Casselman, the town's Park’s Master Plan was also published. This plan will serve as a guide as to how Casselman will put to use their green spaces: “I know two [of the uses] for sure are the community garden, that was definitely mentioned in there and that’s something we’ve actually started taking initiatives on[...], and then there’s the skateboard park, so I’m happy because [it was a] resident who came in [and requested the skate park], and it actually worked”, said Geneviève Lajoie, giving us a glimpse at some of the upcoming developments for the town.

Increasing communication in Casselman  
During the interview, the mayoress expressed her interest in increasing community engagement. In order to accomplish that, she hopes that developing community groups will encourage members to voice their ideas and concerns: “[...] Our role isn’t just to have meetings, based on staff reports, our role is to engage in the community, truly learn what the people want and bring it to the table and then ask staff to help us develop those ideas, so, I’m hoping that through those discussions there will be more of an interest in coming to council meetings.”