A new club in Squamish aims to see participants discuss issues, hold local politicians accountable and help move the community forward - all in a casual atmosphere.
The Squamish Civic Club, founded by 2011 council candidate Rob Weys, had its first meeting on Dec. 8 and has its next meeting next Thursday (Jan. 12).
"Civics clubs in different forms have been operating in different parts of North America and Europe for a long time," Weys said. "There a lot of clubs or associations in town that have different agendas, but this is a community-based, non-partisan open forum for anyone who wants to join. Sometimes, for whatever reason, people don't want to join the different community groups in town and this is an avenue for them to voice their opinion."
The goal is for the club to meet monthly and Weys said he hopes the casual atmosphere will lead to more people getting interested in letting their voice be heard.
"The format to our meetings will largely be up to the members at large," he said. "Probably a free-flowing discussion with not a lot of bureaucratic structure. No one will be pressured to speak and with our meeting locations, like the Shady Tree or the Brew Pub, people who may not be into speaking in front of large groups or public speaking will want to get involved."
Weys, who garnered 451 votes for council in the 2011 municipal election, said several interesting discussions took place at the first meeting.
"We talked about how a lot of the sub-committees for the district have been scrapped and about the issues regarding seniors and transit," he said, adding that budget and planning department issues were other hot topics. "People with common ideas or concerns can come to the meeting and be a part of the club and we will try to push these concerns forward to council."
Weys he also hopes to see the club release monthly report cards online critiquing both the mayor and council on their performance and decisions for the month.
"We're not out there to hammer people but we want to keep them accountable," Weys said. "We're going to be somewhat a community-based lobby group - and all groups lobby for their beliefs, but if you want to get things done you have to make your voice louder and bond with other people."
Weys said participating in his first election was a good experience and he hopes Squamish sees change with the new blood at the council table.
"Squamish is a great town but things need to happen more quickly in this community," he said. "People have been dragging their feet a little in my mind and I think a lot of people are looking for change. I was hoping for a bigger change in council but I hope the group can do things differently."
The club's next meeting is planned for Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Howe Sound Brew Pub. For more information on the club, visit www.sites.google.com/site/squamishcivicsclub.
