On the Board

There’s a bar near my place that wants to expand. Their expansion plans have caused some controversy, with some residents opposed to the idea because they are worried about increased noise (the plan includes a patio where none exists currently), drunken patrons, and associated problems like, presumably, vomit on the sidewalk and cigarrette butts in gardens.

I decided to write an article about the issue for Raise the Hammer, and I started by interviewing the owner of the bar. To get the opinions of residents, I decided to attend the local neighbourhood association meeting, which was this past Monday.

It turned out to be the annual meeting of the Kirkendall Neighbourhood Association (KNA), and the board of directors – which was just one woman – was resigning. A new board needed to be elected.

My fellow meeting attendees, who were on average 20 or 30 years my senior, had a number of pressing concerns: graffiti on mail boxes, the expansion of the bar mentioned above, speeding traffic, and young people.

Apparently, “swarms” and “gangs” of youth are a real problem in Kirkendall. They are prone to walking through parks on their way to unknown destinations, which really irritates some people.

I was compelled to remark, as one woman pressed the cop in attendance about what they could do about this “problem”, that walking places with a group of friends is not a crime. “This was at 2:30 am!” she barked at me. The elderly woman next to me leaned over and loudly whispered, “they were probably just trying to have a good time!”

To sum it all up, when it came time to elect the new board, I decided to stand for election. I nudged the woman next to me and asked her to nominate me, it was seconded, I accepted, and it passed.

If you want change, we’re often told, you need to get involved. As I’m learning here in Hamilton, it’s a lot easier to change the course of your city than the course of the province, let alone the country. And now I have the opportunity to have a little bit of influence on the course of the neighbourhood I share with all the wonderful citizens here.

If you’re frustrated with how things are right now, I have to ask: are you aware of your neighbourhood association? Maybe they need a new board member.

[tags]Kirkendall Neighbourhood Association, grassroots democracy, community involvement[/tags]