SPEAKING UP FOR OUR COMMUNITY

FRIENDS, RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBOURS

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Our Vision Statement

"We believe that Mississippi Mills is a special place to live and we want to preserve its qualities and improve them wherever possible. To that end, the Residents' Association will create a forum to engage all residents in an on going dialogue about the challenges, problems and opportunities we face. We will strive for a shared vision of our future and we will promote the means to achieve that vision."

Our Raison d’être

This is a crucial moment in the history of our Town. We seem to be facing a period of rapid growth and change. Growth is inevitable, but we want smart growth and we think many people who choose to live here feel the same. Whether in our rural areas or in our urban areas, there is an increasing risk that tract-housing and strip-malls will dominate, that our water and air environment will suffer and that the Town will become someone else's suburb.

This vibrant community marked by historic mills along the Mississippi River can remain a vibrant town with a distinct character. Anger and frustration won't get us anywhere. We need to work together to find innovative solutions that the community, the Council and developers can buy into. The MMRA seeks to be that voice for the residents of Mississippi Mills.

Our Constitution

The Constitution of the MMRA was developed in 2003 and ratified in 2004. Click here to view our Constitution

The MMRA network puts residents "in the know."

At this point in the evolution of the MMRA, we have moved from a “member-oriented” organization to an association of friends, residents and neighbours who share in the objectives of the MMRA and wish to be a part of a residents’ network and who care to support it financially.

What we have in common is a love for our community and a belief in continuous involvement in the processes of municipal government in order to make our neighbourhoods and communities better.

The MMRA’s leadership team (see panel to the right) consists of people who actively participate in environmental issues, municipal planning and development, rural and urban issues, property tax burdens, and so on. Along with others who have specific or general interests, we attend Council meetings and take notes, review Committee agenda packages and pore over Council minutes. Information is shared for the interest and edification of all residents of Mississippi Mills through this website (www.mmra.ca), the MMRA's Yahoo Discussion Group, the MMRA's Facebook Group, at MMRA meetings and events and through a periodic e-letter, the Communiqué.

Residents can also find information in local media. Although the historic Almonte Gazette newspaper is no more (as of 2009), there are two free community papers with online versions - the EMC News and the Canadian-Gazette - where staff writers do the best they can to cover MM news and issues. In addition MyFM Radio 107.7 out of Arnprior broadcasts local items. The Humm is a fantastic, free, independent, monthly available at certain locations, that covers the "Arts, Entertainment and Ideas" spectrum in the Ottawa Valley, including some great environment-oriented articles. However, you may not find local political coverage there.

Donations

The MMRA is a not-for-profit organization. We gratefully accept and acknowledge donations. Our requirements are modest, but we do incur expenses for advertising, hall rentals, survey costs, web hosting, etc. To donate, please send a cheque along with the attached Issues Survey to tell us what your key concerns are.

The team of Directors serving on the MMRA Board for 2009-10 is as follows:

Alison Ball (Ramsay)
Arnie Francis (Almonte)
Amanda Gorman (Ramsay)
Bev Frans (Ramsay)
Jill McCubbin (Almonte)
Paul Parsons (Ramsay)
George Yaremchuk (Almonte)
Paul Zollman (Almonte)

You can contact the MMRA Board by email at info@mmra.ca

For website issues, please contact the MMRA Webmaster at webmaster@mmra.ca

Discussion Groups:

The MMRA is on Facebook. Please join our FB Group here.

For threaded discussions going back many years and for current topics, MMRA members talk on our Yahoo MMRA group.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all our documents are available in .pdf format, (and require a pdf reader like Adobe Reader). Click on the Adobe icon to download a free version of Adobe Reader. Please be aware that documents you select will open in a separate window.

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