Judges with the Communities in Bloom program had a full day of touring Ponoka Thursday, Aug. 13 evaluating the town and its amenities.
Wes Amendt, director of community services, spent much of the day with judges who conducted a full day tour of the Town of Ponoka, which included the waste treatment facilities and an evaluation of the town’s policies.
Most people don’t realize the program looks at every aspect of a community, said judge Berta Briggs. “The town has prepared a profile book, which just gives us more background information.”
She said the book highlights many amenities within the town and she was impressed with its contents.
This is the second year the town has been part of the program and also the second year in the non-competitive Friends category, where communities are evaluated, but not ranked, with similar sized municipalities.
Briggs said the tour helped highlight many aspects of Ponoka. “The town is very well balanced and we’re learning about that. So really when it comes down to the evaluation, it becomes the details we base our recommendations on,” explained Briggs.
One of the benefits of being part of the program is it gives community members a chance to improve their town and follow certain Communities in Bloom criteria to accomplish that. Not only the does it create opportunities for improvement, communities become more visually pleasing.
“It provides that network of community that get together and share ideas,” she added.
There may not be any “cookie cutter” solution to a problem, but by asking questions planners can find out what works and what doesn’t.
Briggs suggested the town’s river valley and trail system is something that is a strong community builder. “It’s connecting the whole community and that is part of community building. You’re going to have a healthier community. You’re going to have a social community because people are going to be moving.”
Doug Hornbeck is another judge who toured Ponoka. He said there are six things judges look at: tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape and floral displays.
“We judge you on what your possibility is under your conditions,” said Hornbeck.
The next step is for judges to help the community grow and do better year after year.
The evaluation takes some weeks to compile and Briggs said the recommendations are released in the middle of September.
Nominate your neighbour winners
As part of the tour, the town also presented the winners of the Nominate Your Neighbour contest as part of the Communities in Bloom project. Here are the winners:
Residential:
- First prize, Heather Shingematsu;
- Second prize, Thomas and Diane Hughes;
Most Improved:
- Kal Casy;
Commercial:
- Walrus and the Carpenter.