Municipality of Otter Lake - Strategic Plan

Vision

Businesses and people thrive in the prosperous town
and surrounding area.
The tourism industry supports jobs and job growth.
Otter lake cultural and recreational activities make it a destination.
It is a community where people of all ages and backgrounds have
many opportunities, are proud of their town, feel safe, have fun,
remain to raise their families and retire.

Many outdoor opportunities – eg. hunting, fishing, road / off road trails, hiking, camping.
Bilingual people make Otter Lake appealing to tourists from other provinces and countries.
Many activities for all ages with Otter Lake RA (social events, rink, playground) and a very active Golden Age club (cards, darts, exercise, social events).
Broad range of businesses that support the community. See the municipal internet for a complete list

Otter Lake is located on highways (route 301 / route 303) & Chemin Picanoc with high traffic visibility.
Many lakes and rivers in the area for boating, camping, building houses and general tourism.

Lack of job opportunities for young people resulting in them leaving the town and a remaining aging and declining population.
The aging population leave Otter Lake for retirement homes in other towns.
Limited lodging and food services in Town, which are essential to attracting tourists.
A large portion of the business comes from seasonal visitors which makes it difficult to sustain local businesses during off-season periods.
Slow or no internet coverage in areas surrounding Otter Lake makes attracting new businesses and younger people to the area challenging.

Support seniors remaining in the area where they grew up through a retirement residence.
Take advantage of free services provided by the Réseau BIBLIO de l’Outaouais through a larger library.
Attract tourists through collaboration with MRC, ATP (Association Tourism Pontiac) and ZEC Pontiac.
Attract tourists through a local tourist information and interpretive centre that exploits our heritage & local culture (eg. timber trade, trapping)
Create a farmers / crafters market place where locals can sell goods & services.
Exploit local resources to create jobs eg. Leslie Park has significant unused land.
Improve the internet so new businesses and younger people are attracted to the area and can work remotely.

A declining population making it difficult to sustain local businesses and resulting in tax increases for the remaining residents in order to support the same level of service.
Lack of interest by the community in planning for the future of Otter Lake.
Community not in agreement on priorities.
Lack of government and municipal support (eg. grants, funding) for new development.