A new hope
Residents in Burnt Point and Georgetown Royalty sign petition to form new resort municipality
Residents of two unincorporated areas of Kings County are banding together in the hope of forming a new resort municipality to gain some bargaining power in the ongoing Three Rivers amalgamation talks.
Residents of Burnt Point and Georgetown Royalty signed a petition following a meeting last night at Rodd’s Brudenell River Resort to create a resort municipality.
Ray Brow, one of the meeting’s organizers, will be presenting the petition to Communities, Land and Environment minister Robert Mitchell later this week.
“It will give us a little bit of power and bit more leverage in terms of what’s going on,” said Brow, noting it would put the unincorporated communities on an equal footing with the other seven municipalities involved in the amalgamation discussions.
The petition required at least 30 signatures, half of which would have to be seasonal residents.
Brow said he received many more.
“I did not think the evening would go this way, but (residents) all lined up at the end of the meeting to sign the petition,” he said. “It was a surprise, even to me, that there was that kind of enthusiasm.”
The move came after the meeting that saw almost 150 residents of the unincorporated areas show the same level of apprehension toward the Three Rivers amalgamation as approaching a mousetrap.
“Once you get in, you can’t get out,” said John Walsh, one of four unincorporated representatives on the Three Rivers steering committee. “What’s it going to cost us?”
The meeting’s original purpose had been to compile questions from residents regarding the proposed Three Rivers amalgamation, a process being held in anticipation of the province’s upcoming new municipality act.
The proposal would see Brudenell, Cardigan, Georgetown, Lorne Valley, Lower Montague, Montague and Valleyfield combine with four unincorporated areas to create P.E.I.’s fourth largest town.
The biggest concerns raised by residents were how amalgamation would affect tax rates, preserving the integrity of rural areas and whether residents would get a “final say” on the decision.
Mike McCormack was one who questioned why the amalgamation was necessary.
“I don’t think it’s fair to be forced into any kind of situation that we don’t choose to be in, if it’s going to be thrown at us directly or indirectly,” he said. “You used to say ‘I can smell a rat in the house.’ There’s something going on that we’re not aware of.”
Some attending the meeting wanted previous examples of amalgamations between rural and urban areas that “worked.”
“I’d like to see or hear about a shining example of amalgamation in Atlantic Canada,” said Georgetown resident Tim Mair.
Brow said questions raised at the meeting will be brought to the province and steering committee, with residents also voting to hold a second meeting to hear those questions answered.
Brow said the questions and answers will also be uploaded online.
Residents can still submit questions, preferably by email, to georgetownroyaltypei@gmail.com or by phone to John Walsh at 902-652-2706.