Power to the People

Sometimes, a small group of concerned citizens is enough to make a big difference.

Photo by Guille Álvarez on Unsplash

How has the year 2023 been treating you so far? In my neck of the woods, our energy bill was 45% higher than the previous month's because natural gas prices have doubled and electricity was 25% more expensive. I told my husband no chocolate chip cookies for the foreseeable future because the costs of eggs have increased more than 50%. This week, I also learned that the left's war on fossil would expand into my kitchen--the Biden administration could ban gas stoves soon. It seems Americans are losing a bit of freedom and prosperity every day.

But I do have some good news.

I'm blessed to live in a community that sits right next to an open space, including a beautiful pond and a small hill. Fishing in the pond in summer and sledding down the hill in winter have become part of the memories for many kids who grew up here (To protect the innocents, I will not disclose the names of the county and my neighborhood.) The open space is an attraction for both people and wild animals. I often encounter foxes, deer, and numerous Canadian geese during my daily walk. The proximity to the open space is one of the main reasons why property values in this community have been going up like a rocket.

Last September, my neighbor informed me that our county wanted to carve out a portion of our precious open space and build a new library, even though an existing library (beautifully renovated in 2018) locates only 10 minutes away.

Representatives from the county's open space and library organized a virtual public meeting about the project at the end of September. We learned the voters approved the funding for the library in 2015 through a tax increase. Since it already has the money, the county felt it must spend the money regardless of how much things have changed in the last seven years. The library representative said that due to population growth and a 2018 survey, a new library was justified. All government representatives claimed that they had been doing community outreach for this project for years, and the feedback had been very supportive. But for my neighbors and I, this meeting was the first time we heard of this project.

At this virtual meeting, only the government representatives had their audio turned on so they could speak. Our audio was muted throughout the entire session, and the only way we could ask a question or make a comment was by typing in the chat box. About halfway through the meeting, government representatives did an online survey. Among the 114 participants, 48% were firmly against it, 14% undecided, and 38% were for it. The opposition has a variety of reasons, including concerns for the project's impact on the accessibility of the open space for families and property values, its effect on natural habitats for wild animals, and what a waste of money when there is an under-utilized library nearby.