Sometimes, to have their concerns heard and taken seriously by government officials and private enterprises, residents have to work together.
And along the way, a community that collaborates towards a common goal or set of goals inevitably gets closer.
With that in mind, a handful of residents who live west of Sundre recently decided to start laying the groundwork towards introducing a new organization called the South McDougal Flats Area Protection Society, said Neil Konner, a director and founder.
“There was a McDougal Flats community association at one time, but it no longer exists,” he told the Round Up last week, adding the new group is in the process of getting registered as a society.
“Our purpose is to be a voice for the residents and landowners to promote a safe environmentally sustainable quality of life within the area,” he said, reading from a prepared mission statement.
Among the group's other goals are to: influence, support and cooperate with public and private agencies, governments, provincial and national organizations so as to positively influence the development of legislation and policy affecting the quality of life and sustainable environmentally safe conditions expected by the society's members; develop relationships with local municipalities including Mountain View County and the Town of Sundre as well as provincial and federal agencies that develop policies that affect the area; and to collect and compile information and resources that will be made available to not only the society's members but also the public at large.
Residents of the area, largely west of Sundre's town limits on Highway 584, have faced a number of issues over the years, said Robin Tudor, also a director and founding member of the society.
“The reason we're doing this now is it's just been building, the frustration from people out there,” said Tudor.
From a growing number of gravel pit operations with apparently no end in sight for more, to the overreaching development moratorium that was imposed, which subsequently had a negative impact on property values, people are upset, he said.
So the idea is to rally people together to determine specifically what direction residents wish to pursue as well as to establish relationships with governments at all levels, he said.
The society seeks to create synergy and a level of communication among residents, government and private enterprises as well as to share information it gathers along the way, said Konner.
“We want to knit this community together.”
The fledgling group hopes to grow and to that end is planning an introduction meeting and membership drive this Thursday, July 28 starting at 7 p.m. at the Sundre West Country Centre.
Konner said the organization had so far accumulated about 135 names on a petition.
“Everyone I met had something unpleasant to say about the moratorium to the lack of representation in the area,” he said.
“In general, as an overview observation, a lot of people are very unhappy.”
Although providing residents of the South McDougal Flats area with a voice is a primary focus, it is not the society's only goal.
“We want to also bring the community closer together…and maybe throw in a barbecue once in a while,” said Konner.
Email [email protected] for more information.
