The most revealing moment at the July 14 town council meeting when Westwood Mobile Home Park residents presented their cases against the proposed town plan of moving the waste transfer site beside their neighbourhood was council's total silence when asked if any member had questions or comments.
Other than respectful thanks from Mayor Brian Spiller, and his promise that there would be an open house in September, the five other council members (Coun. Mark Kemball was absent) had nothing to offer – in stark contrast to the chattiness that followed Wildrose MLA Kerry Towle's report on what her party was doing on the provincial political scene.
Council's silence on the Westwood issue is revealing because over the past month it has given every appearance that it does not know how to handle the understandable anger that has grown with a clear majority of the 230 residents at the trailer park, as well as the accompanying rising angst throughout the rest of town.
But council does like to spin. The message from council this summer in response to the controversy is that the relocation of the waster transfer site is “not a done deal”, or that “it's early in the process”.
For the record, what council passed last April 28, and its all available for anyone to read on the official agenda and minutes from that meeting was administration's recommendation to approve “the relocation of the waste transfer site to the north end of the town yard”, as well as this direction to “include funds for the relocation and construction of the new waste transfer site for the 2015 budget deliberations.” That sounds perfectly clear. Hard to spin that.
This was all done without once consulting residents at Westwood, and that is not only a huge problem with the mobile home park community but to citizens outside the trailer park who are wondering if they too will be marginalized in the future by the hammer of their elected officials who arrogantly believe they are the only ones who know what is best.
Unfortunately for council, that tactic is not followed by Alberta Environment, which oversees planning and development of waste transfer sites across the province with rules and guidelines, some mandatory and others that are simply recommended.
The ministry does make it perfectly clear in its Alberta Transfer Station Technical Guidance Manual that well-considered community consultation from the very start of the process is critically important.
“Involving the community at an early stage of the siting process can help to define a suitable level of service and to address specific concerns in the planning and design of the facility,” says the manual. “It is often more effective to address these concerns prior to confirming a specific site and preparing a detailed design.”
The mayor now admits the town may have dropped the ball on not considering this report. Spiller and council have committed themselves to holding an open house to officially address the concerns of Westwood citizens, and yes, to counter that with its own case.
But spin or no spin council will be hard pressed to find a way to counter Westwood's very simple position that residents just don't want to have a dump beside their homes. Who does? It is safe to say no neighbourhood in town would ever accept that.
Council will then be left to either forge ahead with a plan few citizens inside or outside the park want, or they can just throw in the towel, admit defeat, accept the entire controversy as a learning experience and find a new location away from any residential area.
If they do the latter, council members will at least show they are finally listening.
