What makes a community?
It’s a question we’ve previously asked, but one that needs to be offered up again as the Village of Clyde’s viability review process heads into the home stretch.
Since the review started in 2013 the debate has revolved around whether Clyde should remain incorporated, or become a hamlet with the confines of Westlock County.
Yes, there’s a difference between being a village or a hamlet, but let’s remember that it’s not like a bulldozer is standing by to tear down the community if it dissolves.
If it becomes a hamlet we suspect everyday life for village residents will more or less be the same. Taxes will be paid to a different governing body and levels of municipal services might change, but that’s essentially it.
And as it was brought up at the viability meeting on April 11, much of the village’s infrastructure isn’t even cared for by the municipality.
The Clyde Agricultural Society is responsible for the lion’s share of recreation as society members maintain and run the Clyde Community Hall, curling rink, baseball ball diamonds and rodeo and gymkhana grounds.
That won’t change no matter who’s in charge.
Nobody forces these people to do it. They volunteer simply because they love the community and they want to make it a better place for all.
If there was any consensus residents could come to at last week’s meeting it was that Clyde is a great place to live and the people who live there are passionate and proud of their community.
Viable? Well, that’s another question.
At any rate, council still has a decision to make and if it’s to remain a village, they’ll be some additional scrutiny from Alberta Municipal Affairs.
But if it’s to dissolve, electors will get a chance to have their say via a plebiscite. And after all this time and talk it seems like that’s the most pragmatic way to go.
Clyde’s 100-plus-years of history will never be erased and the community’s hard-working volunteers won’t be stopped.
So, what makes a community?
It’s people.
And in the case of the Village of Clyde, those people aren’t going anywhere no matter the final decision.
