A group of citizens committed to attracting tourists, residents and merchants to their village in the foothills will begin brainstorming ideas this month.
Five Longview residents met as the Village’s new economic development committee for the first time last month and will continue to meet monthly to collect statistics on tourism including attendance at local events and traffic counts, as well as determine ways to help boost the village’s lure to tourists and potential residents.
Among the committee members is Longview deputy mayor Carole MacLeod. She said the village of about 310 residents and a dozen businesses has a lot to offer, including high quality restaurants, the beef jerky shop, a revamped Centennial Park and summer festivals, but she feels it hasn’t reached its full potential to draw people to Longview.
“We have fantastic restaurants here, the music festival in August, which is always packed, Little New York Daze and the rodeo bull riding, which was a huge success,” she said. “It’s just a matter of promoting our little village whatever way we can to do that.”
The village is in the Alberta Tourism Guide and is part of the Cool Little Towns initiative, a website that promotes attractions and activities in the foothills, said MacLeod.
“Part of the job is to really promote Longview,” she said. “There is always a lot of people coming through in the summer, it’s just a matter of having them stop.”
The Longview economic development committee formed last spring when the Village council put out a call out. They required a minimum of three people and ended up with five.
“We need these committees,” said MacLeod, adding council is made up of only three people. “Getting ideas from this committee is going to be really important because they all come from different walks of life. It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of ideas or projects they come up with.”
This month, the committee will walk around Longview and discuss potential ideas, said MacLeod.
“I’m anxious to get on to our second meeting and see where their strengths are and ideas are,” she said. “It’s a great little town. There is a lot of community spirit.”
MacLeod said work also needs to be done to attract more business and residents.
Rick Smith, a member of the committee, agrees that there is some opportunity for growth.
“We can’t get much bigger because we are limited with our infrastructure and land, but there is still some opportunity for housing and residents to build here,” he said.
While this is important, Smith said the committee’s focus is mostly about taking advantage and enhancing what the village’s main street has to offer.
“There is an opportunity we believe to make Longview a little bit more of a destination than it is,” he said. “We want to give people who drive up and down this highway, and there is thousands every day, more opportunity and more reasons to stop and enjoy a pretty stop in Alberta.”
Smith lived in Longview as a boy before his family moved away at the age of 10, but returned eight years ago.
He was formerly the general manager at Heritage Park in Calgary.
“We have lots of great restaurants here, there’s some great stuff with the art gallery, the hotel has undergone some massive renovations,” he said. “It’s really booming.”
Smith was involved with the Longview Arts, Recreation and Community (ARC) Society survey that went door to door in early 2013 to determine projects and initiatives citizens would like to see in the community.
The survey was a way to gather input for the ARC Society’s Active Community Strategy, funded by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, to enhance quality of life and healthy living in the province.
It received response from 90 per cent of the village’s approximately 300 residents.
“It told us a lot about what the residents think and economic development was certainly the major focus,” Smith said.
“We’ve been treading water for a long time, recognizing the potential that’s there. It’s a beautiful spot. We have some great businesses here. It’s a great place to live.”
