Cracks are appearing in the town's resolve to relocate the dump next to the Westwood Mobile Home Park as widespread community protest spills outside the trailer court and into the community at-large.
Armed with more than 130 protest signatures on an in-park Letter of Opposition, along with another 120 from an outside the trailer park petition, energized citizens in the mobile home community were united in their resolve to force town council to reverse its controversial decision to have the waste transfer site next to their homes.
Mayor Brian Spiller is now conceding in hindsight the town may have dropped the ball by not fully consulting with Westwood residents before council approved an administration recommendation on April 28 to move the waste transfer site from the town's southwest corner to a new two-acre location at the north end of the town yard near the intersection of 57 Avenue and 37 Street.
“Yes, maybe it should have been done. But then again we have the professionals of our administration to give us most of our information,” said Spiller, admitting the town did not expect the current emotional level of public fury over the plan. “We can't go to the public before we make every choice. And maybe this time we should have. We didn't and we are paying the price.”
The mayor's comments come amidst growing anger throughout the community, with citizens inside and outside the park eagerly signing the Letter of Opposition and petition. The results of both initiatives were put to town council at its regular meeting on July 14.
“I just think it was an injustice of the town going ahead with making these plans without consulting them first. It is more of a slap in the face than it actually being there,” said long-time Innisfailian Heather Montgomery, who is spearheading the out-of-Westwood opposition to the town's plan. “People are just really annoyed that the town would do that without consulting anybody and to just have a cavalier concern for it - like you don't matter and we're doing it.”
The proposed new location, which has been earmarked to receive $282,000 budget approval in 2015, has been heralded by town officials to have a significantly “greener” and more environmentally-friendly operation than the old site – one that will become more of a recycling and solid waste depot rather than a traditional “dump” that utilizes a noisy compactor and a smoke-billowing burn pit. Spiller noted last week that plans were already underway last spring – before the waste transfer site relocation plans were announced - for a double row of evergreens and a chain link fence to mitigate concerns over potential negative visual issues park residents might have with the new waste transfer site.
But many mobile home park citizens counter that having a waste transfer site next to their neighbourhood will cause reduced property values, along with increased noise, smell, fire hazards, traffic and negative public perceptions about their homes and community. However, what has angered residents the most, as well as an increasing number of non-park citizens, is the town's failure to consult the mobile park community before council approved the relocation plan in April.
Montgomery's petition, which has been placed at the Innisfail Hotel's liquor store, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Innisfail Golf Club, asks citizens whether they are opposed to the town moving the “dump” to south of the trailer court.
“I did it just to show solidarity to a community, our community,” said Montgomery, who gave her results to trailer court citizens at their park rally Sunday (July 13) afternoon. “There is going to be noise, there is going to be dust, flies, vermin and it will lower people's house values. I don't think they (town) can justify that with a clear conscious.”
In the meantime, Westwood residents said they are “thrilled” with the support they are seeing outside their close-knit neighbourhood of about 230 citizens.
“I am thrilled that somebody outside of Westwood court has taken some initiative on this issue as well,” said mobile home park resident Don Corcoran, who presented the trailer court's argument against the town's plan to council on July 14 with fellow park resident Dan Giesbrecht. “That shows me that people don't care if we live in trailers. We are a community in this town. Our neighbours all around us are going to support us.”
While the town invited Westwood residents to make a presentation to council last night, and has offered to hold an open house in September to listen to citizens' concerns, Corcoran said that proposal has become increasingly unacceptable.
“We are not going to wait until the fall to see their fancy display, their open house. I don't think the citizens in here or in town will wait for that,” said Corcoran. “With this news of a petition going through the town with signatures I think we are going to get a little bit more tough and ask for this decision to be reversed immediately.”
Spiller, however, said last week that idea was one he personally would “probably” not accept.
“I probably won't because we (council) are the ones that have to make those decisions. We can't be told what to do by the citizens,” said the mayor. “We will listen to their stuff and in September we will have an open house and we will decide from there. That gives us lots of time.”
