REDEFINING PERTH-ANDOVER: IT′S EVERYONE′S RESPONSIBILITY

Posted On October 23, 2013

Doug Griffiths, author of ῝13 Ways to Kill Your Community″, outlines his observations of what people do that contribute to their community′s decline. The following is a summary of point #13 in his book.
 
 
 
Don’t Take Responsibility
Lack of housing and financial resources, declining volunteerism, high taxes, increased vandalism, people moving to larger centres – are always someone else’s fault. Is your cup half empty or half full? Positive thinking people see problems as an opportunity to make changes, develop new skills, make money, meet new people, create new partnerships, etc. Negative people are unable to think beyond the problem, they tend to focus on everything that is wrong and have no problem solving skills.
 

If you are determined to see your community fail, ensure you and everyone else you know does not take responsibility for any problems in your community… that way, no one will feel compelled to fix anything. Whatever you do, find someone to blame. Challenge them to fix the problems but don’t take on any responsibility yourself and definitely don’t ever offer to work with others to problem solve.
 

As the Village of Perth-Andover continues to recover from the devastating flood of 2012, decisions will be made along the way that will impact how the Village redefines itself. As the village continues to be physically dismantled, people are still, I believe, going through the various stages of grief.
 

And herein lies the opportunity for people to participate in the process of change. Just how Perth-Andover will evolve is anyone′s guess. And this is not the time to rely on guesswork. Taking responsibility to be informed about plans which are being considered before decisions are made is something everyone CAN do. And here I am talking about being pro-active rather than reactive.
 

As an example, in the Glenn Group′s proposed plans for the village, the site designated for a Community Garden and Orchard are alarming.

Alarming, in the sense, that I don’t understand how it can possibly work.

As a person who values the concept of Community Gardens, I am taking responsibility to pay attention to that piece of the plan. Through gathering information and sharing it with the people who are tasked to make the decisions, I hope that a more appropriate location will be considered. Decision-makers cannot be expected to be knowledgeable in everything. So in the spirit of helpfulness, if you have particular information to share, SHARE IT at a time when it matters – not after the fact.
 
I am presenting my concerns about the Community Garden location with pictures. From practical to philosophical, a lot of questions and concerns come to my mind and I will take the responsibility to ask questions and ALSO gather information with the intention of helping others to make informed decisions.