[MA-RPC] FW: [at-l] 250 senior living homes

[James Hooper]

I have another thought.  My experience says that the township boards  
listen better to local voters.

Could the ATC sort the PA members by zip code and then we could look  
at the zip codes along the trail and try to locate members that are  
in the various townships?
On Feb 27, 2006, at 12:43 PM, Hal Wright wrote:

> Good to hear from you Michelle, Thyra and Jim.
>
> So this dialogue has brought focus onto a big problem (development  
> pressure) and one solution (activism directed at local government).
>
> It's been suggested, I think by Walt, that the best sort of local  
> government activism is to be a member of the governing body. For  
> those of us who do not live near the trail, and for many who do,  
> that's not a realistic possibility. So we are forever in reaction  
> mode, flooding public meetings when the issue is important and  
> hoping our voices, or some serendipitous outside force, will turn  
> the tide in our favor.
>
> Reaction-based activism from the outside looking in is difficult to  
> sustain, particularly at a distance. For example, when the Alpine  
> Rose development issue was at the early stages, I joined the BMPA.  
> I made the two hour drive up to Eldred Township once or twice a  
> month to attend meetings. It made for a late night, and it became  
> impossible to keep up with my on-the-job responsibilities. The  
> township residents, while appreciative, knew I wasn't from around  
> there. Most mistook me for a reporter at first. Not being from the  
> township, my opinion meant little in any event.
>
> If we are to be proactive rather than reactive, my sense is that  
> media tools will help those of us who don't enjoy proximity and  
> don't know the local players. A spiffily-produced Power Point and a  
> short video presentation with the official ATC logo, general enough  
> to be used at any public gathering and on-point with the "curb the  
> development" message, would be a good tool. Any one of us could  
> then present, and all of the presentations would be unified. It  
> would lend credibility and cohesion to our message, and make it  
> possible for any RPC member to get on the agenda of any relevant  
> public meeting.
>
> Google-Earth and TerraServer photos of the trail corridor, as well  
> as close-ups of maintainers, hikers, and impressive natural sights,  
> would make a good combination.
>
> I also think a component of our organized message should be the  
> damage being done to the environment by inappropriate trail use.  
> Every time a member of one of our clubs cleans up a bunch of beer  
> cans or other garbage, he or she should take a photo of the before  
> and after, and email it to a central account with the date and  
> location. Every time we see ATV tracks, take a picture and email  
> it. Every time a car window gets smashed at the trail head, take a  
> picture and email it. This evidence can be accumulated, and a map  
> of trouble spots established based on empirical data. This would  
> make for an impactful presentation, and give us much data to  
> present to enforcement in an effort to convince them that a problem  
> exists.
>
> I would be happy to help with these efforts, and I do have some  
> media tools at my disposal. The issue has always been motivating  
> individual club members to supply content. Maybe with the RPC, we  
> can get some of that accomplished. For a start, I can set up an  
> email account where maintenance pictures might be forwarded. Longer  
> term, I think this should be automated with an online database, and  
> possibly a mapping function via GPS.
>
> What do you think?
>
>
>
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