Yn petear mei.... Local Interest Langezwaag

A brief round of introductions. What does the board look like?

We currently have a completely new board of four people. According to the bylaws, the board should consist of seven people but that has been a problem for many years. We are in the process of revising the bylaws. For example, the bylaws state that we must meet 11 times a year. We think this is out of date because we can reach each other very well via email or app. The main positions on the board have been filled. So Anja koehoorn is president, Wietse Bosma is secretary, Wouter Speelman is treasurer and Sietske Voolstra is general member. So we are a new board. The previous board had a very active chairman with a lot of knowledge and expertise. Thijs has meant so much to the village. We can't fill that in that way. And so we would like to approach it differently. Not so that the board tackles all the activities itself, but rather in connection with the residents. That way you create support among residents. We do have ideas about this.

What is the Local Interest mainly concerned with?

Actually, the better question would be: what has the local interest not been involved with in recent years. We have taken on a lot of things. We are now focusing better and have had advice from Hiske and Doarpswurk, among others. As a board we are going to look closely at what does and does not belong on our plate and see where the opportunities lie. For example, we believe that energy transition does not belong on the plate of local interest. Of course we support where we can and if there are working groups, of course we cooperate. And as far as complaints in public spaces are concerned, as a local interest we do not take them, but refer to the notifications app. One of the main topics we want to deal with is support within the village. In Langezwaag, 45 percent are members of the local interest. That's not many. So support base needs to increase. There is clearly an opportunity here; it is good to recruit members. And make sure the administration is in order. The surrounding villages, such as Luxwoude, have given us tips on how to tackle that. So next fall we will hold a membership drive and we aim for 75 percent. Another idea is to bring together enthusiastic people from neighborhoods; for each neighborhood a so-called neighborhood mayor. The idea is that the neighborhood mayor is a point of contact for us and can support fun initiatives in the neighborhoods.

There is a lot to happen in Langezwaag such as the construction of the school and the expansion of the village with sixteen houses. In this we also definitely see a role for local interest. And not to forget the project of 1 million mini missions, a project of the Regio Deal. These are large and long-term projects that also require a lot of time and energy. Like, for example, the last mini mission, the water tap. There is much more involved than initially thought. So you find out that there is still a permit to be arranged and a connection to be made. So as we indicated earlier, having residents in working groups on topics that they have an affinity for is a win/win situation. We have so much knowledge and enthusiasm in the village, we need to harness that. Finding the connection is the key word!

On October 4, the mayor will visit Langezwaag. We are already working on how to make a nice program for this. We are looking forward to it!

And finally, the village vision. In the fall we want to work on this with our residents.

What does the local interest run into/are there things that could be better?

And how can the municipality support this? What we really see as a great opportunity in our village is for associations in our village to connect with each other a bit more. Our associations are very enthusiastic but very much focused on themselves. This is where local interest can do something. In addition, we want to work on our own profile. Welcoming new residents with a welcome package containing, for example, coins from the village hall, and for example, a nice Map with all the contact details of important associations in the village. This might recruit new members.

However, communication with the municipality could be better. And we mean the feedback or announcement of work. As soon as work is going to take place in the public space, we would like to be informed in good time. So communicate in advance. And that is not happening enough (yet). And as a municipality, take a good look at how residents are informed and discuss this especially with local interests. Sometimes a letter to residents is sufficient and sometimes an information meeting is useful.

The timing of meetings organized by the municipality is also not always well chosen. For example, the meeting with village hall boards that started at 1600/1630 hours. Many board members have jobs in addition to their volunteer work and thus are not available during the day. The congregation could take this into account better. Just schedule meetings in the evening. Then everyone can attend.

What is going well? 

We are happy with the village alderman. The fact that you have short lines of communication is very nice. All we have to do is call or email and we're in touch. This is very accessible. This also applies to the village team. As it gets dicey somewhere else in the organization, the village team jumps into the breach. We experience the contact with them as very positive. We also experience a lot of support from the municipality in, for example, organizing a meeting for the village or developing a village vision.

Where are there still challenges?

We find both cooperation with the municipality and cooperation with other local interests important. Take the construction of a new school, of course this is something that has been going on for years in Langezwaag, but this also concerns Jonkerslân and Luxwoude. It is important that later on we look together at the site plan and the access to the new school. Because the school must soon be easily accessible for the children of all three villages. That the construction of the school is taking so long is what people are agitated about. And our plan to put local interest better on the Map is still in its infancy. After the summer we will 'get on the line' for this with our residents by means of a 'doarpspetear', the visit of the mayor and the drafting of a village vision. A great challenge! The village team will support this and we are happy with that!

Any tips for other local interests?

Every local interest board is different. Perhaps board members should not stay on for too long. A change once is refreshing. Perhaps more networking with each other. Contact with each other is always good because you learn from each other!