By Mollee Francisco 

When Walt Ripplinger and several other concerned members of the Jonathan Association started the Jonathan Research Group (JRG) back in 2001, they knew they needed a surefire method to get their thoughts and ideas out to their 8,000 fellow homeowners.

So shortly after they formed their reformation group, they put together a Web site.

“We needed to get info out to residents about what we perceived as a lack of info (from the homeowner association’s board of directors),” said Ripplinger. “We wanted to be able to get feedback from residents, positive and negative.”

The Web site served as a forum for residents, as well as a political platform that later helped get Ripplinger and two fellow JRG members elected to the Jonathan Association Board of Directors that following year.

It was soon followed by another now-defunct Web site, www.friendsofjonathan.com, which sought to counter arguments on the JRG Web site.

Ripplinger’s group may have been the first local group that saw the Internet as a good way to get their message out and garner support for their causes. However, it wasn’t the last.

At least one Jonathan group, “People for a Better Jonathan” continues to outline its views on the Web. And online advocacy appears to be growing choice for those hoping to mobilize larger groups of people at one time.

Getting out the message

Dave Van Sickle and his neighbors started up a site called Move 41 West to state their opposition to the possibility of a new Highway 41 Minnesota River crossing near their homes along Audubon Road.

And Christian Ward has been using his Web site to protest a lighted baseball field at the future Veterans Memorial Park near his home in the Points West development.

Ward said that a Web site was essential for educating people on his neighborhood’s opposition to the ball field project. “The alternatives are e-mail, phone and face-to-face communication,” he stated in an e-mail. “All of which require more man hours in order to reach the effectiveness of a Web site.

“Writing your message and posting it allows you to better compose your thoughts and get your message out much more effectively, and probably increases your chances that your message will be well-received,” he added.

Van Sickle said that door-to-door, face-to-face interaction was still their preferred method of getting the word out about the river crossing, but they found the Web site helpful to “quickly and efficiently communicate what was happening and what action steps we needed (neighbors) to take.”

Both Van Sickle and Ward used their sites to provide extensive background information and documentation regarding their issues.

“The single most important feature to the site is documentation,” stated Ward. “We have documentation on the site consisting of everything from blueprints and plat maps to e-mails and tape-recorded meetings.”

For Van Sickle, background information was essential to their cause. “Our goal was to have a single location where our residents could find current information and links to related sites like MnDOT, Sierra Club, Friends of the Minnesota River Valley, and other groups that supported our cause,” he stated.

Like the JRG’s site mobilized voters, Van Sickle and Ward were both able use their Web sites to encourage their neighbors to leap into action whether it was writing letters to MnDOT or signing a petition for eventual presentation to the city council.

And though they were unsuccessful in their bid to stop plans for a ball field at Veterans Memorial Park (the City Council voted 4-1 on Jan. 28 to proceed with construction), Ward at least considers the Web site a hit. He said his site has received visits from “almost all the neighborhood residents” as well as hits from outside their residential area.

Van Sickle is still waiting for MnDOT’s decision on a preferred river crossing, but still considers their site a success as well. He said it has not only given people “the ability to do more  in-depth research on the issue without having to be embarrassed about asking questions,” but it has also been used as a model for other groups going through similar situations.

“While we received a few positive comments from neighbors, we received more comments from other groups going through the same situation,” said Van Sickle.

And even though the JRG Web site is no longer on the Internet, Ripplinger feels it was a useful communication tool for them at the time they were using it.

“Expressing thoughts and ideas are always good,” said Ripplinger.

Local issue-oriented sites

Block the Ballpark!

Move 41 West

People for a Better Jonathan