The Council Plan and Community Vision documents were made available online through this site, and at customer service desks throughout the Shire. The documents were also posted to residents upon request.
The availability of these documents was advertised in our Community Noticeboard in the Pyrenees Advocate, on our website, and multiple times through our Facebook page. All people who expressed interest in being involved in the Community Panel were contacted directly to let them know that the documents were available for viewing and feedback.
In total the Shaping the Pyrenees project page received 747 page views from 309 unique visitors. The Council Plan was downloaded 173 times, and the Community Vision was downloaded 83 times. The documents were requested by and posted to 6 individuals. Pyrenees Shire Council thanks the community for their interest and feedback on the Council Plan.
Two individuals completed surveys on the plan, and one individual provided feedback by direct email.
Feedback will be reviewed and final changes will be made to the Council Plan prior to its adoption at October's Council meeting.
After receiving the report from the Community Panel, Council met to review and consider it. They had two workshops facilitiated by Liminal by Design to workshop a structure for the Council Plan in response to the Community Vision report. The decision was made to include the complete words from the community panel, and to write the Council Plan in response. Council officers then workshopped internally to flesh out priorities and initiatives that would be feasible to carry out.
Council workshopped a separate vision to the Community Vision for two reasons:
Deliberative engagement is a process which involves recruiting a representative sample of the community and giving them the opportunity to consider an issue in detail and work together to develop solutions. It is different from gathering information from community through surveys, or feedback on draft documents, as it is much more involved and collaborative, and is supported by facilitators who are expert at getting groups of people to work together. It provides a great opportunity to put citizens at the heart of our decision-making processes. The Community Panel were engaged in a deliberative engagement process facilitated by external consultants, Liminal by Design.
Advertisements were placed in newspapers, on facebook, on Council's website and in the Community Newsletter. Council officers also attended Beaufort Market when COVID restrictions permitted. People who were interested in being part of the community panel, were asked to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) questionnaire, to provide information about themselves. Council then engaged external assistance to carry out selection of participants. Selection was:
We acknowledge the people past and present of the Wadawurung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eastern Maar, and Wotjobaluk tribes whose land forms the Pyrenees Shire. We pay our respect to the customs, traditions and stewardship of the land by the elders and people of these tribes on whose land we meet today.