The town has expanded upon how it undertakes public engagement through the reinvention and expansion of  "Let's Talk" that now is on a dedicated website.

The first two public engagement events have been announced, in addition to online surveys, to coincide with the launch last week. It has been kicked off by seeking feedback on the town's Smart Cities Challenge submission now in the works in pursuit of up to $50 million in federal funding in a nationwide contest. The public meeting will be held at the Cochrane Alliance Church, 902 Glenbow Dr., on Mar. 1 from 7 to 9 p.m.

The town needs to submit a Smart City 50-word statement by Apr. 24 in order to be considered for the next step of the contest. Finalists will then be provided $250,000 each to develop their proposals.

That is followed by a public session to seek input on council's strategic priorities that will largely shape their four-year term. That one is being held at the SLS Family Sports Centre on Mar. 6, also from 7 to 9 p.m. Following input, the town's strategic priorities will be finalized and submitted to council for approval on Mar. 26.

There's no requirement to register to attend either of these events.

Teasers are already up on the site for two upcoming topics. The town will be seeking input on the naming and design elements of the new Bow River bridge and for its major land-use bylaw review.

The website is organized by major project and includes overviews, documents, timelines, event calendars and feedback tools such as surveys. When projects conclude, the information will remain on the site so the community can see what was decided.

Council Strategic Planning Session

While it's not first on the list for public engagement, further input is being sought before town council finalizes its strategic priorities. It follows an afternoon session by council on Feb. 9 .

In the end, the establishment of these priorities will allow for the most extensive consultation since the town first establish the practice at the turn of the century. Yet, it does have a bit of a throwback to how it first started.

Mayor Jeff Genung says when he was previously on council there was more input to allow for buy-in to the strategy.

"There were at least 50 people in the room and I know that's kind of an extensive touch but it really did get buy-in from everyone. It wasn't just a top-down 'Here's our vision, now go do it'. It was 'What do you think our vision should be? What do you think our priorities should be?'"

While there weren't that many at the Feb. 9 session he says the new approach actually may allow for more staff input.

"Now the buy-in is through different means and we're going back to town departments for their input."

Council reviewed an extensive list of action items that included 182 items from town administration alone. Councillors worked their way through 40 items they listed as possible priorities and pared it down to the top 12 by the end of the day, says Genung.

While Genung is pretty confident they have established a good list he's eager to hear what both the staff and public have to say before ratifying the strategy.

"It's not written in stone for the next four years, but it's a guiding document we'd like to try and stick to. It's a four-year snapshot that we'll revisit each year to update."