Welcome to the Website of the Onancock Residents Group (ORG)
The Onancock Residents Group is made up of your neighbors, residents of our town. We like living in Onancock. Some folks involved in ORG have lived around here all their lives; others are quite recent arrivals. While we are critical of recent decisions and processes of decision-making by our town government, we are also motivated by our desire to keep our town livable and to help it thrive.
Here are the ideas that guide us.
1. Transparency and inclusiveness in governmental decision -making are critical to the future of our town.
2. We believe in clear, well-organized and public processes of governing, and in policies that prevent hasty or secretive decision-making.
3. We believe that town revitalization is not only about downtown redevelopment, although that is an important part. Revitalization is too often interpreted in economic terms alone. We believe that revitalization requires community input and community consent. Further, the participation of all residents of Onancock must be welcomed, and the welfare of all our neighborhoods embraced, as a guiding principle for action.
4. We believe that tourism is only one part of a healthy local economy. Encouraging new businesses to open and established ones to grow requires creativity and generosity on the part of the town government and building owners in both our business districts. It includes mentoring and financial resources to help new businesses get started.
5. We need to welcome and hear new voices in deliberations about Onancock’s future. Many citizens of our town are busy as full-time workers, parents or caregivers, and many already volunteer time to the community. We want our elected and appointed officials to reach out to folks where they live and work, making a conscientious effort to hear what they have to say and welcoming their participation to the extent that their lives allow.
Please join us as we work to enact these ideas. You can contact us through this web page, and we look forward to hearing from you.
The ORG Steering Committee