Residents in the Grand Bay-Westfield region are one step closer to choosing a name for their soon-to-be amalgamated community.
The town and part of the Westfield West local service district (LSD) will become one as part of local governance reform.
As part of the process, residents will have a say on what the new community, currently known as Entity 51, will be called.
The naming committee — made up of residents from the town and LSD — received 369 submissions from local residents, organizations and businesses. In total, 116 different names were put forward.
“That was really exciting to see,” said Grand Bay-Westfield resident Jon Taylor, who chairs the committee.
“We really tried to encourage people to get out, think about where they live and how they want to name it. I’m glad that people took that in stride and got really involved.”
Committee members must now figure out which of the names to include on the final ballot for residents to vote on.
There will be between three and five names on the ballot, with Grand Bay-Westfield being one of them. It will be online voting for the most part, but residents will also be able to cast their ballot at the town office.
“We’re going to be using a preferential ballot, which I think is really exciting,” said Taylor.
“It’s used in certain things like leadership races in provincial political parties, but to my knowledge, it’s not used very much in municipal politics around here, so it’s going to be an interesting pilot project in direct democratic action.”
The voting will take place in April, with more details expected to be released soon. The winning name is expected to be announced in early May.
Taylor said even if residents choose a name other than Grand Bay-Westfield, each community will retain its identity.
“We’re selecting the name of the governing body for the new town, so it’s the name of the government itself rather than what you write in your address,” he said.
Since residents of Grand Bay and Westfield had no say in their name when they were forced to amalgamate in 1998, Taylor said he is glad the process is different this time.
“Whatever we choose will be something that at least 50 per cent of the population really likes.”
The latest details about the naming process can be found at www.entity51.ca.
The Naming Committee of Entity 51 extends appreciation for your submissions of name ideas for Entity 51. The Naming Committee is pleased to report that 369 name ideas were submitted. For details, visit https://t.co/MOSrEnVMAH pic.twitter.com/puoqOByOtX
— Grand Bay-Westfield (@towngbw) March 29, 2022
