Glenburnie Residents' Association

Organisation

Glenburnie Residents' Association

n.d.

The Glenburnie Residents' Association (GRA) was formed in 1985, in response to the Township of Kingston's plan to built a garbage dump in the Glenburnie area. By early 1986, and following numerous public meetings of concerned residents, an executive (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) was elected, a constitution adopted, and the GRA was established.
In addition to a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, the volunteer executive of the GRA includes eight (8) area representatives, plus Chairs of a number of working committees. It is estimated over eighty (80) local residents have held executive positions. The GRA reports to local residents through periodic newsletters, and at the Annual General Meeting. The Executive met as issues arose. A special working group of the Executive met regularly to draft submissions and responses to the City/Township Steering Committee, or other forums, prepared agendas for its own meetings, and generally looked after the day to day work of the GRA. When major presentations were made, as to Draft Stage 2, the Diversions Reports, or the Compensation Policy, members of the Executive were assisted by members at large, who undertook to research and draft part, or all, of the responses.
The GRA began to make formal presentations to Kingston Township Council concerning what was then the "Waste Management Study", at the end of December 1985. Since that time, the original "Study Plan" became the "Waste Management Master Plan", and the City of Kingston joined tha process. The purpose of the GRA remained fundamentally the same. For the next eight or nine years, representatives attended meetings of the KingstonTownship Council, at which garbage issues were discussed, and since 1987, they attended and spoke at every Waste Managemnt Master Plan Steering Committeee meeting. In addition to monitoring developments, the GRA also raised questions and concerns about both the planning process and the actual proposals on how to manage waste.
In 1988, it responded in detail to the Draft Stage 2 Report, and over the years made reprsentations to the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and the Steering Committee on Waste Management, and to planning generally on the need for a real diversion program on the question of siting and sizing of a landfill site and other issues of concern to community residents and to residents in the Kimngston area as a whole.
The GRA represents all residents in the Glenburnie community. Based on the distribution of letters, it was estimated that there were over 650 households in aera. Most of these have donated funds to the GRA over time; many of them regularly attended the Annual General Meeting, and also came out to public meetings hosted by the GRA, consultants, or the City/Township of Kingston.
Members of the Executive and community donated hundreds of hours to perparing submissions, attending meetings, and generally representing the interests of the Glenburnie community. Many also made siginificant financial contributions and/or provided their own personal resources (computer time, paper, telephone calls, car mileage) to the work of the GRA. The only public funding received was assistance from Kingston Township to hire a hydrogeologist, and to consult a solicitor concerning the Compensation Policy. All other requirements, with respect to time, supplies, energy, and money were met by the organization's budget, or personal and financial contributions from interested and concerned residents.

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