Open Mic Evening
at the WMA AGM

The WMA welcomes Westmount residents to “speak their minds”

The Westmount Municipal Association, founded in 1908, is Canada’s oldest such organization and has as its core mission to encourage local residents to participate in civic affairs and community activities.

Every year, the WMA holds an Annual General Meeting where the Derek Walker Volunteer of the Year award is presented. This year, the recipient will be Lily Lam, whose contributions include being the founder of the Westmount Quilters Guild, a trustee of the Westmount Public Library, a member of the Roslyn School governing committee and a volunteer instructor and workshop leader at Manoir Westmount and Place Kensington. She is also the creator of the library’s story-telling cape, which won the grand prize at the Grand National Quilt Show in 2007.

Lily Lam – courtesy of Canadian Quilters Association

Traditionally, the AGM has featured a guest speaker presenting a topic of interest to our membership and residents. This year, however, the association decided it was time to let the membership have a say in their community and present their vision of how they wish Westmount to be. The WMA is therefore proud to welcome special guest, Joshua Wolfe, to act as facilitator of the special “Open Mic” event. Formerly the Sustainable Development Coordinator for the City of Westmount, Joshua Wolfe is currently a commissioner with the Office de Consultation Publique de Montréal. As an urban planner, city commissioner, adjunct faculty and chair of nonprofit organizations and committees, he has over 25 years of experience in facilitating discussion in both French and English with a wide variety of different types of stakeholders.

The meeting will commence at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 18 with a reception, followed by the formal business part of the meeting at 7:30 pm. This will be followed by the presentation of the award to Lily Lam. From 8 pm onwards, Joshua will facilitate discussions in an informal and convivial setting. Attendees will be free to speak at the “open mic” as well as write their thoughts and ideas down. Joshua will use these to stimulate discussion on the topics that emerge.

Joshua Wolfe

Some of the issues the WMA has been involved in over the past year include Urban Planning, Permits, Parks and Dog Runs, Traffic and Transportation, Noise, Infrastructure, Liveability, Administration and Communication, Inter-community Relations as well as subjects as diverse as street line painting and the very important issue of 911 response time to emergencies. We want our membership as well as local residents to speak up in a setting and express their thoughts on these and other issues. For people who have not yet had the opportunity to present questions at Council meetings, this is the ideal opportunity to express your thoughts and feelings. The WMA will use your input to drive our priorities for the coming year. The City of Westmount itself revisits its Urban Planning Vision in 2019 so now is the time to speak up and help shape the policies that will be put in place. There are many questions to be answered in terms of densification, condos versus apartments, traffic and parking provision, development of the commercial sectors, etc. This is your community so it’s important to speak out and make your views known.

The WMA is planning a Transportation Round Table during the fall and will be meeting with Federal Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, in early June to raise issues that affect our community, particularly with respect to the proposed increase in the local rail network and the impact of the reconstructed Turcot interchange and Ville Marie expressway. Your thoughts on these issues will be particularly useful in order to provide input to the Minister, especially as Federal infrastructure money is starting to be allocated to some of these concerns.

We hope to see as many residents and members attend our Open Mic on Wednesday, May 18th, which is free and open to everyone in the community. WMA membership is $10 a year for individuals and $15 for families and we will be accepting cash, cheques, credit and debit cards at the AGM. Alternatively, the dues can be paid on-line via our website at wma-amw.org

Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, May 18
Reception at 7 pm – Meeting begins at 7:30 pm
Victoria Hall, 4626 Sherbrooke W
Free – Open to all residents

Founded in 1908 to promote sound civic administration, the Westmount Municipal Association (WMA) is a community-based organization independent of the municipal administration. The WMA is run by volunteers and acts as a non-partisan community link between citizens and City Hall. Board meetings are held once a month.
wma-amw.org
info@wma-amw.org