The town of Sackville\u2019s communications practices have received some scrutiny lately as residents in the vicinity of a proposed factory on Walker Road express dismay at a lack of notification of bylaw changes that made way for the development.<\/p>\n
Sackville does publish a newsletter, though it is primarily distributed via email as a pdf. Councillor Michael Tower brought up the possibility of expanding into print at council\u2019s meeting on Tuesday evening. \u201cI know that we have great websites, but there are a lot of people who don\u2019t have access to that,\u201d said Tower, making a case for a newsletter people \u201ccould hold and read.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tower said the problem with people not getting information about town activities, is that \u201cthey hear about it after and then we have an uproar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Special projects manager Kieran Miller told council that the town\u2019s monthly newsletter is indeed available in print, in small quantities distributed at town hall, the Visitor Information Centre, and the library. Miller also said that as of last month, residents can sign up to have a copy of the newsletter mailed to them. The offer was included in the last edition of the newsletter, and Miller says only one family had taken up the offer as of Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The distribution method isn\u2019t what concerns Matt Litvak, one of the Walker Road neighbours who feels let down by communications around town planning. At a meeting on June 7, Litvak asked council to consider expanding on what they included in the newsletter, to reflect not only finished council business, but items that council is considering in future meetings.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery department in town talks about past, present and future activities. The only department that doesn\u2019t is town council,\u201d Litvak told council. \u201cYou only talk about what\u2019s happened, not what you\u2019re working on, or what you\u2019re going to be working on in the future. I think that would be a really good way to get the town involved and notified as to what\u2019s happening in their town.\u201d<\/p>\n