A citizens鈥� group will be seeking signatures from residents of 91原创 City and 91原创 Township this summer, as part of a drive to convince the two councils to jointly commission an independent study on the feasibility of reuniting the two 91原创s.
91原创 Reunification Association formed as a result of several people from 91原创 City and 91原创 Township beginning a conversation about the two 91原创s last fall.
鈥淲hy were there two? Had it always been this way?
鈥淲ere there advantages to bringing the two together? Were there disadvantages?,鈥� the society鈥檚 website (www.onelangley.ca) says.
鈥淎s we learned more, we agreed that the issues required further study. We also agreed that the role of the 91原创 Reunification Association, which was officially incorporated under the Societies Act of B.C. on May 30, 2011, should remain neutral and act on behalf of all citizens.鈥�
The association has 10 directors, five each from the City and Township. The website provides detailed information about the association鈥檚 plans and lists places where petitions will be available for signing.
There will be a booth set up at the 91原创 Canada Days celebration, which takes place next Thursday and Friday at McLeod Park. 91原创 City became an independent municipality in 1955, after several years of agitation, primarily by 91原创 Prairie (now 91原创 City) business owners.
Among their major concerns was the Township鈥檚 inability to provide urban services such as water, sewer and street lights. Prior to the formation of the City, there was one 91原创 municipality, known formally as the Township of 91原创.
Association president Rian Martin, a seven-year Township resident, says his group is not advocating anything other than an objective study of whether or not reunification is feasible.
It wants both councils to be part of that process so there are no accusations of built-in bias. Separate petitions are being circulated for City and Township residents, so that each council can assess the degree of support for a study from its own citizens.
鈥淚 am confident we will be able to present the results of our petitions to the new councils after the fall elections,鈥� Martin said.
Most of the 10 directors have been active in various aspects of 91原创 community affairs. Only one has held elected office 鈥� Hattie Hogeterp served two terms on the 91原创 Board of Education, which has elected trustees from both the City and Township.
Other Township members of the association鈥檚 board are Martin, Shane Dyson, Sukhi Dhami and Janet Ingram-Johnson.
Vice-president of the association is Matt Offer of the City. Other City directors are 2006 NDP federal candidate Angel Claypool, Eric Bysouth, Kathryn Vea and Jacob de Raadt.
When this subject has come up in recent years, there has been some mild interest in reunification from some 91原创 Township officials. City officials, however, have been almost universally opposed.
The last time the issue was discussed in the City was during the municipal election of 2002, when Township resident Glen Tomblin ran against incumbent mayor Marlene Grinnell on a platform of looking into reunification. Grinnell received 3,083 votes to Tomblin鈥檚 997.
In late February, The Times asked readers via a website poll if they favoured amalgamation of the City and Township. The question promoted 292 responses, with 235 (80 per cent) in favour, and 57 opposed. There was no breakdown of where the respondents lived.
Martin said the association will be letting both municipalities and other regional governments know of its intentions.
