Community as Process

Proceedings of the June 12th Denman Island Residents Association (DIRA) meeting were delayed as the Treasurer penned a steady stream of receipts for new memberships. Late start aside the crowd in the hall quickly settled in for what was rumoured to be a contentious debate. Under the skilled direction of DIRA’s President and Robert’s Rules we waded through other business to the main event that began with an impassioned motion to rescind DIRA’s sponsorship of the North Lands Committee. Various islanders spoke respectfully to the motion both for and against as the clock ticked inexorably to the ordained closing time of ten thirty. I would characterise the meeting as having a subdued intensity. At the last minute a ‘friendly’ amendment was proposed to modify the one in question, to ask instead that DIRA waive sponsorship of the North Lands Committee until such time as a clear mandate could be presented for scrutiny and debate. The change to the motion was accepted and a vote to accept or deny the amended motion was called.

With an excitement like the final minutes of a playoff game two votes were quickly raised, tallied, and results announced. The first vote was restricted to the membership, not including those who had signed up that evening, and the second open to all those present. In the former a recount led to a second ballot resulting in 20 to 18 to deny the motion. The vote from all present yielded 70 to 40 in favour of the motion. That vital business complete the President was thus able to close the meeting punctually and retire to bed at his appointed hour for a well deserve nights rest.

To the question ‘What did the meeting accomplish?’ I think attendance showed a high level of concern about DIRA’s role in the current development proposal process. The voting results provided a mixed message. The first vote (20/18 or 52%) indicated that longer standing members of DIRA were split in opinion concerning direct ties with the North Lands Committee whereas the second (70/40 or 63%) showed a larger majority in favour of suspending it until its mandate has been clarified.

One particular comment to the motion was an eloquent plea for clarity. This speaker cautioned that failing to effectively keep all public processes open and transparent would provide fertile grounds for bitterness and resentment that could grow to the point of damaging our community irrevocably. Timely advice indeed, I think we would be wise to take all steps necessary to protect our civil proceedings from misinterpretation. Healthy community arises from learning to live with our differences as well as our similarities. It’s a continuous process that can’t be taken for granted nor hidden behind closed doors. The attendance and participation of our latest DIRA meeting was a good measure of how we value our community and respect our differences. However you interpret it, this could be seen as a straw poll of citizens at large feelings about the North Denman Island Initiative. That a straw poll could be taken alongside the formal one is something to be proud of and hopefully the measure of a commitment to our community. What we do with it remains to be seen.