Tom,Tom H wrote:
To confirm Aunty
The Anti Aerodrome Committee meetings are open to ANY resident of the area regardless of their position pro or con on the Parkland Airport.
Yes or No?
The reason I want to be very clear on this is several non aviation friends that are residents tell me they have been told they may not attend meetings as they are either indifferent to the Parkland Airport and don't see what the big deal is, or are in favor of the development.
I said I would post the question on the forum, publicly, and advise them of the response.
Thank you
Tom H
I forwarded your inquiry on to one of the AAC Committee members and the gist of their response was this:
First, your inquiry referred to AAC Committee meetings. Committee meetings are restricted to members of the committee. AAC Community Meetings are open to members of the AAC. They directed me to the homepage of their website which defines the AAC as: "a community standing united against the development of an aerodrome in our peaceful rural environment" and defines membership as: "as members, we all share a common goal - to STOP the development of an airstrip in rural Spruce Grove by whatever means legally available to us."
The first meeting organized by residents back in September was open to the general public. Since then, with the formation of the AAC, meetings held that pertained to AAC business have been open to members only. Thus, AAC Community meetings are only open to those who meet the membership requirement of being opposed to the airport, unless otherwise specified.
They informed me that not unlike other organizations, members share a common mindset or goal, and meet regarding that goal. Therefore, information being presented does not pertain to anyone not of the same mindset. AAC Community meetings have been held with the intent to inform members, not to debate issues at hand, and are not town hall meetings open to the general public based on that reasoning.
They also pointed out that generally, organizations and societies hold membership meetings not open to the general public when discussing issues pertaining to their organization or society so this is not unusual.
Also mentioned was the suggestion that if proponents of Parkland Airport wished to have a public meeting, there is nothing preventing them from renting a hall and organizing a more public event.
Hope I have passed on enough information to fully answer your question Tom.