THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - There was no shortage of ideas when the Town of Fort Smith held its first open house to seek input for the future development of the community.

A glance at a graffiti wall - just one of the ways people could submit ideas - showed the variety of suggestions during the Feb. 5 and 6 open house, called ideasFortSmith.

Mayor Janie Hobart said there were some "lofty" ideas, like calls for McDonald's or Tim Hortons restaurants.

The most common idea was for a movie theatre. "That was the really big one," Hobart said, adding other common suggestions were for more sports, a new arena, efficient energy use, more recycling, improved trails and a focus on tourism, including an effort to create a new branding for Fort Smith. "It was good information to receive," Hobart said.

Many of the suggestions confirmed what the town knew, but other ideas were new, including a proposal to place more importance on snowmobile trails. The mayor said some of the ideas are attainable and some are not.

The open house was part of the process to create an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP), a requirement to continue receiving federal gas tax funding. In Fort Smith, that funding amounts to more than $3.6 million over five years.

The ICSP covers four planning areas - strategic, human resources, capital investment and community energy. A report on the plan must be ready by March 31.

The two-day ideasFortSmith attracted between 150 and 175 people to the Rec Centre.

"I was very pleased," Hobart said. "This was the first time we did something like this."

She was particularly pleased the initiative involved many young people. "We think it's important," she said. "These are the people who are going to be living here in 10 years."

Brianna Shae, 12, said the open house was a good idea, as she drew a recycling symbol on the graffiti wall.

"We should help the world more often with recycling and using bicycles and stuff," she said, explaining more people biking or walking would mean less exhaust from cars.

Jack Van Camp, a consultant for the sustainability plan, said the open house attracted a cross-section of the community.

"It was a bit of a gear shift around here," he said, adding there was previously not a lot of opportunity for people to have input into the future of the town.

Van Camp said he was impressed with some of the ideas, including the suggestion that wood cut in the FireSmart forest fire abatement program be used for biomass energy.

Long-time Fort Smith resident Ib Kristensen was also pleased with the initiative.

"I think it's wonderful," Kristensen said. "It's a great opportunity for townspeople to voice their deeply-buried thoughts on all kinds of things."

Hobart said some of the information will be incorporated into the ICSP process. If suggestions don't fit into that process, they will be passed along to the appropriate government departments.

As for the suggestion for a new movie theatre to replace one that closed five years ago, Hobart said the Rec Centre already has a 36-seat theatre, which can be expanded to a capacity of 50 or 60.

The theatre shows free movies on Thursday evenings and it is sometimes rented for people to show slide shows.

While this first ideasFortSmith was for the ICSP process, Hobart said it will become an annual event. "We think it's important for citizens to provide information on a regular basis," she said.

Aside from the graffiti wall, residents could participate through a speaker's corner where people recorded comments on video, computers to input suggestions, and a survey.

The planning session also included displays and presentations from various town departments, along with Arctic Energy Alliance, Deze Energy Corporation and Aurora College.