A new citizens’ group says it wants to create a space to raise awareness of issues in the town.
Pelham Ratepayers Association (PRA) is putting together a website, planning articles for it and lining up assignments for members to monitor council.
“We’re a small organized group trying to give the whole town a voice,” said Zachary Junkin
Talk of such a group began shortly after the October municipal election, said Junkin, who lost to Dave Augustyn in the mayoral race.
He is acting as the group’s spokesperson, although he said he does not consider himself its leader or most active member.
“We are all equal.”
So far, the association has 10 members with about a dozen others expressing interest.
It wants to be an inclusive group “anyone with a problem can approach us email us and we can work it out,” he said.
The PRA grew out issues such as rezoning for a service station at Pelham Street and Welland Road, rezoning for a five-plex on Church Hill, Fenwick downtown reconstruction, East Fonthill development, and a proposed community complex.
“People feel they aren’t being heard, they’re shutout,” Junkin said.
Some of the PRA members have experience in municipal and other levels of government, while some are retired people active in the community and others just interested in local issues
They want to help people navigate through local government while raising awareness.
They will do it by monitoring council meetings, attending public hearings, reading minutes and reflecting on them in articles on the PRA website.
Junkin does not see this as political group or as one working against town hall.
“We just want people to know that they are not alone,” he said.
The Town of Pelham, for example, has a pretty good website, Junkin said. But it is not as easy to manoeuvre to find specific information from documents, like West Lincoln’s website.
“For my generation, the heart of transparency is open access,” said the 31-year- old.
While the PRA plans to watch what council is doing, it does not plan to make formal presentations to it.
“We hope to build a strong enough voice outside of the council chamber, so we don’t need to be heard in it,” Junkin said. “It is difficult to say the things that need to be said in a presentation. We want a space where we can speak freely.”
It will use website articles, letters to the editor and other such methods to express itself.
Town councillors are invited to attend the PRA’s meetings, which are held every couple of months. They can also read articles on the website, which should be fully operating within the next month.
“We are trying to provide what we think is the voice of reason, or at least another voice in the town,” said Junkin. The PRA can be reached by email at [email protected] . Its website is www.pelhamratepayers.com.
