Joe McWilliams
Lakeside Leader

The Town of Slave Lake wants to make itself more attractive. To that end, it signed up this year with the Communities in Bloom (CIB) program, and invited judges from that organization to pass judgment.

That’s what Lisa Tomlinson of Rocky Mountain House and Sherry Coté of Bruderheim were doing in town on July 29 – checking this and that, asking questions and making observations.

The visit will result in a set of recommendations to the town for making improvements. What those might be they weren’t willing to share with a reporter. The things they liked, however – fair game.

“Great walking trails!” said Tomlinson, who writes a column on gardening for the Rocky Mountain House Mountaineer.

“A lot of opportunities for recreation,” said Coté, who works for the town of Bruderheim.

The pair are volunteer judges for CIB. They have a set of criteria they call “five pillars” and give scores according to a format. The community with the most points at the end of the annual judging process gets bragging rights for a year.

However, Slave Lake is not in the competition this year. It has signed up for the ‘Novice’ category, meaning a visit from judges and some recommendations. Next year, if it chooses, Slave Lake could go for the full judging option.

Jillian Hutchings, the Town of Slave Lake Community Relations Manager, says the program cost the town $200 plus hotel rooms for the judges. It will be her recommendation to council that the town sign up next year for the full program.

“I think it’s a good thing,” she says.

Hutchings adds it was encouraging to hear the positive impressions of the visitors – particularly because what town staff hears mostly is what’s wrong with the community and its services.

“They were really impressed by what we have for the size of our community,” she says.

Communities in Bloom judges quite a range of items, well beyond what its name implies.

“It’s about a lot more than just flowers,” says Coté.

Such as? Here they are: Tidiness, Environmental Action, Heritage Conservation, Urban Forestry, Landscape and Floral Displays.

Hutchings says if Slave Lake registers for CIB judging next year, it would require the development of a ‘community profile;’ plus, “We’d have to get business owners involved.”