November 13, 2017 – The Municipal District of Bonnyville recently received approval from Alberta Economic Development and Trade for its Community and Regional Economic Support (CARES) program grant application to create a publicly accessible mapping system.
The M.D. of Bonnyville is the host and managing lead partner on the Regional Geographic Information System (GIS) Project with four neighbouring municipalities – Town of Bonnyville, Village of Glendon, Summer Village of Bonnyville Beach and the Summer Village of Pelican Narrows – and with the contracted services of Munisight Ltd.
Reeve Greg Sawchuk says “the M.D. is taking the lead on the economic development project, collaborating with four municipal partners to create a regional GIS system without borders. This allows for a seamless and unlimited flow of data for accurate decision making by planners, developers, businesses, emergency services personnel and municipal administrators.”
M.D. GIS Analyst Shannon Brassard says “the new system will allow our regional municipalities to provide information immediately in order to open up business opportunities. A Regional GIS enables end users to easily see, analyze and understand patterns and relationships within the data.”
“The Regional GIS is a valuable tool for local municipalities to use in order to compete in the global economy”, says Town of Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski. “It allows municipalities to be prepared for all business enquiries and to assist the region to diversify economically.”
“At MuniSight, we are focused on supporting rural communities with our software and services, which is why we are excited to continue our work with the M.D. of Bonnyville, and to establish a new working relationship with the Town of Bonnyville, the Village of Glendon, the Summer Village of Bonnyville Beach, and the Summer Village of Pelican Narrows,” says Quinten Griffiths, President Munisight Ltd.
The CARES program was created by the Alberta government to support economic development initiatives across the province to help diversify the economy and create new jobs.