Founders of the South McDougal Flats Area Protection Society are encouraged by progress made so far and continue to prepare plans moving forward.
A few dozen families were represented at the society's introduction meeting and membership drive that was held July 28 at the Sundre West Country Centre, said Neil Konner, a director and founder.
Considering the meeting was held on fairly short notice and that many people are on holiday at this time of year, Konner said he was pleased with the turnout.
“For a first time around, I thought it was pretty good,” he said.
Once a core group has been established, the society will be able to continue building up from there, he said, adding that could take some time to grow to that level.
“We're still pretty young yet,” he said.
But the initial steps have been taken, and it's just a matter of time before the society starts “to develop its own mini-culture.”
The society's board of directors met Aug. 12 to begin planning out a more detailed direction and set of goals. Part of that meeting included reviewing surveys that had been distributed during the membership drive, said Robin Tudor, also a director and founder.
“We handed out a survey to see what people's concerns are — that's our objective, to be the voice of the people,” he said last Thursday morning during an interview.
Gravel pits, combined with industrial development and growth, are essentially the main concern that people in the South McDougal Flats area seem to have. Those concerns largely revolve around water and air quality, noise, traffic safety as well as property values. Some comments in the surveys used wording like “intensity” and “accumulative” because of the growth of industrial activity over the years, he said.
But the survey responses were not only about concerns regarding industrial activity. Other recommendations brought forward by residents included establishing a community crime watch collective as well as assuming stewardship of the McDougal Flats Hall to establish a meeting place, which everyone on the board agreed with, he said.
“It's really growing into a community initiative,” he said about the society.
To continue building its momentum, the fledgling organization has plans for another community event. A barbecue has been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10 at the McDougal Flats Hall, which is located across Highway 584 from the McDougal Flats Chapel near Sundre, he said.
But engaging residents who are affected by industrial development is only a part of the equation. Communication between industry, government and landowners has not been particularly productive, he said.
To that end, the society's board has also been actively extending olive branches to industry stakeholders as well as local and provincial governments. The goal has been to “present our concerns and then ask for direction on how to deal with these concerns. We want to work with them,” he said.
Meeting with local governments and industry is not just about expressing concerns. It's also about gathering information, such as how many active gravel pits are actually in the South McDougal Flats area, he said.
“We want to make sure we got our facts straight so we're not off the wall.”
The society's ongoing mission to gather accurate information is coming along.
“There are five active gravel pits in the area, we now know.”
Mountain View County officials have been working to “level the playing field” in terms of normalizing regulations since newer operations are being held to new, higher standards that decades-old operations are not beholden to. The board has also been working to line up meetings with gravel pit operators, the Town of Sundre council as well as the Parkland Airshed Management Zone (PAMZ), he said.
The society planned to present this week a case to PAMZ requesting for that organization to monitor air quality in the South McDougal Flats area, he said.
“They've given us indication that if we are convincing, they'll find equipment and get it done this year yet.”
The society, which does not want to leave any potential voices unheard, has even met with elders from the Stoney Nakoda Nation, he said.
“We've got to get out there and talk to people.”
