The Parksville Residents' Association is asking the new city council for a town-hall style meeting about the plan for a new water treatment plant.
And it wants the meeting to happen before Jan. 31, 2015.
Association vice-president Al Pastars sent the request to Mayor Marc Lefebvre and all councillors. He sent a copy of his request to The NEWS.
"During the election, the Parksville Residents' Association asked all candidates to indicate whether, if elected, if they would call for an open meeting regarding the current planned water treatment plant," Pastars wrote in his request. "All successful councillor candidates indicated their agreement. The residents association is asking for a town-hall style of open meeting with only one agenda item — the water treatment plant. A town hall format encourages more interaction by residents than does an open-house presentation by the Englishman River Water Service (ERWS), which is a top-down information session that explains the project from the ERWS point of view to the exclusion of others . . . there are now opportunities for considerable back and forth discussion. Please do not fall into a situation of waiting to get public feedback closer to decision time as that could result in rushed rash decisions supporting only one set of views."
When reached by phone on Monday, Pastars was asked why the PRA believes it needs this meeting.
"Right now it's very secretive," he said of the plant proposal.