BONNYVILLE – Frustration was palpable among MD of Bonnyville residents even before a rebranding engagement session got going at the Riverhurst Community Hall on July 18.
Roughly 40 residents attended the engagement session with more trickling in as the session got underway. The evening event was one of two sessions the municipality was hosting in conjunction with ‘Unfussy,’ a consulting firm hired by the MD.
The purpose of the event was to hear MD residents’ take on a new name, logo, and brand for the municipal district.
“The 2022-2027 Council Strategic Plan identified that one of the goals was to create a diverse and strong economy. One of the objectives in that was rebranding to help obtain it,” explained Tracy Wasylow, the MD’s communications and media supervisor.
"This was a plan that was created when the new council was elected,” she said, before turning over the floor to the consultants.
Early on, several attendees made it clear that they had no appetite for updating the MD’s brand with the phrase “Don’t break what isn’t broken,” echoed multiple times, by multiple people.
The municipality's logo was produced in 2007 as an updated version of the MD’s original logo. It was not part of a full rebranding process, according to MD administration.
Unfussy’s lead consultant Chris Fields, started by asking attendees to “keep an open mind” and to participate in a “civilized conversation.” No doubt in reference to the engagement session that took place the evening before at Eastbourne Community Hall, that ended on a similarly sour note.
Posing the question “What makes the MD of Bonnyville unique?” answers such as “out of control rural crime,” “inability to keep doctors,” and loss of municipal services took over the discussion.
One resident commented by stating, “I see a lot of money wasted on the MD part... In all reality, how necessary is this? At the end of the day, it's our taxpayer dollars have been used.”
The consultation portion of the rebranding project was budgeted for $150,000. “This includes the contract for the consultants, but also includes budget for incidentals, for example community hall rentals. The contract also includes the engagement activities, the creation of branding materials, and a final report,” confirmed administration.
“We need money to go into crime prevention, we need money to go into more doctors and our community, we don’t need somebody to come in and change the logo,” expressed another resident.
It was apparent that attendees had bigger issues on their mind with frustrations aimed at their municipally elected officials and by proximity, the consultant firm at the front of the room. The anger was likely compounded by the fact that the only council members present at the rebranding session were Reeve Barry Kalinski and Coun. Don Slipchuk.
Slipchuk was also the only council member present at the Eastbourne engagement session the previous evening. The municipality’s CAO Al Hoggan was unable to attend due to the fact he was on vacation, according to the reeve.
Audience members prodded the reeve as to why money was being “wasted” on a rebranding while municipal services were being trimmed, sewage lagoons remained closed to residents, and tourism dollars were being cut.
To this, the reeve responded by sharing his desire to see the municipality renamed to reduce confusion and to be distinct from the Town of Bonnyville. While the comments were not enough to convince the entire crowd, some in the audience did respond with their own suggestions for a new name for the municipality.
Still, others demanded why a rebranding survey for MD residents leading up to the evening’s engagement session was only made available online, asking why the survey was not sent out with the municipality’s property tax assessments.
Another resident stated a referendum should be held asking whether residents agreed with changing the municipality’s name before any decisions are made.
Lakeland This Week has learned that only 95 respondents completed the online survey by the time the rebranding engagement sessions were held.
With little structure to the evening, it was a stark contrast to that of the Town of Bonnyville’s rebranding engagement session held earlier in the year.
Town residents who attended a rebranding session held by Stormy Lake Consulting were provided dinner and took part in breakout groups, interactive activities and seemed eager to part ways with the Town’s slogan ‘It’s Multi-natural’ and a logo created in the 90s.
RELATED STORY: A new brand is coming soon for the Town of Bonnyville
As the July 18 evening went on, residents who wanted to take part in the rebranding process grew impatient with the direction of the session.
“They're giving us an opportunity to speak to them to guide the future. They're not telling us what's going to happen. They're supposed to be here listening to us,” stated a resident.
For a period, attendees joined in listing things that make the MD a great place to live, like open space, the largest and most lakes in one municipality, “a place where people want to come back to,” and natural and beautiful landscapes.
Residents conceded that the MD has the best fishing, is recreationally diverse in the winter and summer, and of course, the MD is the home of the Bonnyville Regional Fire authority – the best volunteer run fire authority, boasted a local fire chief.
Residents also shared pride over being made up of more than a dozen smaller communities and hamlets. A positive tone towards embracing the hamlets in the municipality was something that had many residents nodding in agreement.
However, it wasn’t long before concerns over population became a topic of contention. Residents wanted to see increased tourism, but many shared concerns over significant population growth with residents commenting, “More people, more crime.”
Consultant selection
When a resident directed attention to how Unfussy was chosen by the MD and how the consultant firm branded itself, the energy shifted in the room.
A resident shared that they had been reviewing the consulting firm's website prior to attending the meeting and questioned how the firm characterized itself on their website.
“When I read that, what came up in my spirit is that I would be going against my spiritual beliefs by supporting this,” she said.
Expressing insult in some of the residents’ comments and behaviours, Unfussy staff ended the meeting and began to pack up their equipment.
“I'm extremely, extremely offended by that, and flabbergasted that this discussion has now turned into a discussion about our maybe religious beliefs based on the fact that we used the word rebellion on our website,” said Corey Brewis, a partner in the firm.
“Now, if I was to base, the MD of Bonnyville’s [brand] based on just what you said alone, what kind of reputation do you think you have now set for the entire MD?” he questioned.
Following the last rebranding engagement session, the reeve described the meeting as “rough,” when speaking with Lakeland This Week.
Kalinski reaffirmed that he feels the municipality is ready for a new name that better reflects the growth of the MD and the communities within it.
Acknowledging that he felt bad for the feedback received by the consulting firm, the reeve shared he wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen next with the rebranding process.
The consulting firm Unfussy was selected through a request for proposals (RFP) process.
RELATED STORY: Survey asks residents if Municipal District of Bonnyville should be renamed
