Perth-Andover Needs Intensive and Inclusive Dialogue
Since the Perth-Andover flood of March 23, 2012 there have been three public meetings to discuss the future of vacant lots left in the wake of the flood. The Glenn Group, a Fredericton-based landscape architect firm was contracted to come up with a plan for ‘re-purposing’ the Village of Perth-Andover. They hosted these three public events.
The first public meeting, held on February 19, 2013, was an introduction to the planning process and a general brainstorming session – where attendees were invited to put out all their ideas, their dreams for the Village. I estimate that about 30 – 40 people attended this session. The Glenn Group also conducted a workshop with local school students, earlier that day, to get their ideas and to see how they would repurpose the flooded land.
The second public meeting, attended by about 40-50 people, was held about a month later on March 13. The workshop style session started with Glenn Group consultants showing slides of places around the world that has dealt with chronic flooding. It was wonderful to see examples of how these cities work with the water, instead of against it. Many examples where shown of creative land-shaping (my term) using channels, berms, terracing, re-vegetation, etc.. I think most people in attendance were very impressed with the possibilities of designing space to accommodate flood waters. The attendees were then formed into small groups and worked with the consultants to prepare schematic plans of how the flood-prone areas could be repurposed. The groups then shared their plans to the larger group.
I admit that I felt very enthusiastic and optimistic about the two sessions. I thought it was the beginning of a process to be continued over the months to come. After all, the number of attendees at both sessions was very low and certainly not a good representation of the population at large. Maybe it was because it was winter. Maybe the publicity of the events was lacking. Maybe (for those who knew about it), the online survey was the method of choice to give input. Or, maybe people hadn’t bought into the idea that their input would mean or amount to anything.
On June 6, the Glenn Group consultants came back to Perth-Andover for the unveiling of their plans. The public was invited to come view the plans and give their feedback on forms or via the online survey. Unfortunately there are still many people in the community who are not even aware that a plan has been drafted, let alone any details of the plan.
Fostering community engagement is a bit like knitting. It’s very intricate work. Although the tools are simple, you have to be constantly aware of tension, patterns emerging and loose ends. If you don’t cast on properly, everything else that follows will be compromised. If you lose too many stitches, or make too many mistakes – your work will be full of holes, sagging or deformed – and will have to be unraveled back to the point where the mistakes originated. Sometimes, you just have to start over. That’s if you want to end up with a product that is functional and aesthetically pleasing.
In all fairness to the Glenn Group, it was most likely not part of their contractual obligations to foster in-depth community engagement or broad-based involvement. A couple of “visioning” sessions for the general public may have been all they were expected to do – regardless of the turnout. To my knowledge, they have had private meetings with the Village Council and recently they had a meeting with the business community. If they have had more meetings with groups that I am not aware of….I stand corrected.
And herein lies the problem.
Considering the magnitude of the challenges this community faces to repurpose, redefine, restore, revitalize – much more dialogue is needed to involve people. Now that the relocation program is drawing to a close this month, the door for more intensive and inclusive public input should remain open.
A comprehensive series of welcoming, rich and dynamic conversations must involve not only village residents; people who live in the surrounding areas who regard Perth-Andover as the heart of their community need to be invited to participate. We all have a stake in what happens to Perth-Andover and we can all contribute towards its revitalization.
In addition to public forums, small group discussions could target a broad cross-sections of the population: trades-people, artists and artisans, clergy, cooks & chefs, gardeners, landscapers, farmers, the unemployed, the underemployed, the happily and unhappily employed, the retired, young families, empty nesters, writers, naturalists, pet lovers, historians, sports and recreation groups, seniors, children and adults with disabilities, non-profits, entrepreneurs, lawyers, planners & engineers, students, stay-at-home moms or dads, consumers of mental health services, contractors, social services workers, teachers, therapists, doctors, police officers, early childhood educators, probation officers and the list goes on and on. The good news is that the bulk of this process could be facilitated by people from the community. It’s not rocket science.
It’s extraordinary what ordinary people from all walks of life can come up when given the opportunity to work on developing their own solutions.
Involve community and community will evolve. Exclude community and it will dissolve.
Francine St.Amand
California Settlement NB
