Saving schools is a top priority

Rossland Mayor Greg Granstrom seeks community input to build a vision for the city

Rossland Mayor Greg Granstrom

The secret to success is understanding your strengths and knowing how to build upon them. Mayor Greg Granstrom of Rossland believes that his community understands the value of its natural assets, and it is the goal of the City to incorporate those advantages in planning for the future.

Rossland’s surroundings make it one of the most picturesque communities in the Kootenay region, if not all of B.C. The community’s largest employer, Red Mountain Resort, is also one of the biggest draws for tourism and one of the favourite pastimes of the residents of Rossland. It is the mountain biking capital of the province, and most of the people who live in Rossland spend a fair amount of time hiking, biking, golfing, skiing or trail riding as a means of connecting to the great outdoors. That connection, said Granstrom, helped to shape the Official Community Plan.

“Many people relocate here for the lifestyle,” said Granstrom. “The outdoor recreational activities are second-to-none. That is a huge part of what we wish to maintain and that’s enshrined in our Official Community Plan.”

Rossland is also a tightly knitted community, making it a very safe place to live. The residents look after each other, said Granstrom, and work together to keep the bonds of the municipality tight.

One of the initiatives that is uniting the community currently is the Neighbourhoods of Learning concept promoted by the Ministry of Education. As the threat of school closures becomes a province-wide issue, Neighbourhoods of Learning is an idea that many communities are looking at as a means of saving or enhancing their schools by revisioning them as community centres that may involve seniors’ facilities, continuing education classes and more.

Rossland in particular has been concerned that school closures could mean all children have to be bussed to nearby Trail—a proposition that could have several negative effects on the close knit community. As a result, the City along with the school district and community stakeholders have come together to examine ways of making better use of the educational facilities in Rossland, and early design work is already underway.

“We realize the value of our schools here,” said Granstrom. “I’m confident that this newly formed group, which includes two councilors, will do some modelling and give us some positive direction. Certainly other communities such as Revelstoke have done a whole bunch of neighbourhood learning planning, so there are models out there that we can feed off of.”

Collaboration and community are clearly among Rossland’s strengths. The City is part of the recently formed Lower Columbia Initiatives Corporation, which Granstrom believes will benefit the entire region.

“I think Rossland recognizes that any economic development that happens in this region will spill off to help everyone in the area,” he said. “Certainly, we don’t see a major smelter moving to Rossland but we see that any economic initiatives in this region will help the region and therefore help Rossland itself.”