Vernon residents will get to have a say in the future of their city as more than 36,000
surveys are sent out through the mail this week. The massive mail out is part of the city’s review of the Official Community Plan and features 61 questions designed to give citizens a voice in how Vernon develops over the next 20 years.Chief administrative officer 
Leon Gous said the surveys are only the first step in a lengthy process to gather public input.“What we’re hoping to learn is the direction the community wants to see growth in Vernon go,” he said. “It’s more around what people expect of their city.”Questions range from rating the quality of life in Vernon to whether or not the city has enough activities to offer tourists. Gous said the surveys will help determine if residents want more of a focus on transportation, more emphasis on new parks or on some other need.In addition to the paper surveys, the quiz can also be taken online using the household number included in the mailed out version. However, some residents have contacted the Vernon Daily Courier who have managed to crack the code and log in using random sequences of numbers.When asked if there was a concern about the potential for individuals going online and stuffing multiple surveys into the system, Gous said the city has methods to limit that from happening. He added that the surveys are only part of the public process and people sending in more than one survey will not negatively affect the final results.“This is part of the whole review process,” he said. “A few surveys are not going to skew it.”On the city website, residents are told to contact 
Darwin Horning for more information on the review, however, that will soon no longer be the case. Horning, the senior long range planner for the city, is taking a new job next month. “It’s certainly never ideal to lose anyone,” he said. “(Darwin) is going to be local; he will be around daily if we need transition work or consulting.”Despite the unexpected loss of the senior planner, Gous said that the plan review will continue on schedule for completion by Dec. 2007. He said the additional workload created by the planner’s departure will be picked up by the private consultant the city is intending to hire for the project.“My message to the politicians is that this will not slow the process,” he said.The deadline for the surveys is Oct. 31. Public consultation will continue in November with a series of workshops. Gous said the success of the review will depend on how many residents decide to participate.“We hope it’s going to be broadly reflective; the problem is sometimes you only get people particularly interested showing up,” he said. “Our hope is to do the survey and get a broader reflection of the community.”
surveys are sent out through the mail this week. The massive mail out is part of the city’s review of the Official Community Plan and features 61 questions designed to give citizens a voice in how Vernon develops over the next 20 years.Chief administrative officer 
Leon Gous said the surveys are only the first step in a lengthy process to gather public input.“What we’re hoping to learn is the direction the community wants to see growth in Vernon go,” he said. “It’s more around what people expect of their city.”Questions range from rating the quality of life in Vernon to whether or not the city has enough activities to offer tourists. Gous said the surveys will help determine if residents want more of a focus on transportation, more emphasis on new parks or on some other need.In addition to the paper surveys, the quiz can also be taken online using the household number included in the mailed out version. However, some residents have contacted the Vernon Daily Courier who have managed to crack the code and log in using random sequences of numbers.When asked if there was a concern about the potential for individuals going online and stuffing multiple surveys into the system, Gous said the city has methods to limit that from happening. He added that the surveys are only part of the public process and people sending in more than one survey will not negatively affect the final results.“This is part of the whole review process,” he said. “A few surveys are not going to skew it.”On the city website, residents are told to contact 
Darwin Horning for more information on the review, however, that will soon no longer be the case. Horning, the senior long range planner for the city, is taking a new job next month. “It’s certainly never ideal to lose anyone,” he said. “(Darwin) is going to be local; he will be around daily if we need transition work or consulting.”Despite the unexpected loss of the senior planner, Gous said that the plan review will continue on schedule for completion by Dec. 2007. He said the additional workload created by the planner’s departure will be picked up by the private consultant the city is intending to hire for the project.“My message to the politicians is that this will not slow the process,” he said.The deadline for the surveys is Oct. 31. Public consultation will continue in November with a series of workshops. Gous said the success of the review will depend on how many residents decide to participate.“We hope it’s going to be broadly reflective; the problem is sometimes you only get people particularly interested showing up,” he said. “Our hope is to do the survey and get a broader reflection of the community.”
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