91原创 City Council鈥檚 decision to spend $5,000 to look into problems at Rotary Centennial Park was the correct one, under the circumstances.
At its final meeting before breaking for the summer, council voted 6-1 on Monday night to hire a consultant to carry out a CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) study, in an effort to curb illegal activity in the park.
Councillor Val van den Broek, who cast the lone no vote, did so because she felt the study would be a waste of money when there are people already on the RCMP payroll who are qualified to carry it out.
But for the residents who live on three of the isolated park鈥檚 four sides, time is no doubt of the essence.
They鈥檙e the ones overlooking graffiti-covered walls, piles of garbage and abandoned shopping carts, and having to keep an eye out every day for used needles and other potentially harmful substances.
During the past several months, overnight camping has also become a problem at the small park, which has only one entrance and is blocked from view by buildings on every side.
As a result, the park has been identified as a priority area, presenting 鈥渃onsiderable鈥� public safety and health concerns.
The intent of the study, which City staff expect will be underway within a couple of weeks, is to identify potential solutions 鈥� both immediate and long-term.
The money will be taken from the City鈥檚 enterprise fund, which is funded exclusively through casino proceeds. That seems appropriate to us.
Our concern is what happens next.
We have no problem with the expenditure, as long as the result isn鈥檛 simply another document that ends up on a shelf somewhere collecting dust, and provided the solution isn鈥檛 simply to remove the issue from the park 鈥� effectively relocating it to some other part of the community (or to another community).
There are some challenging factors with the park that, as far as we can tell, can鈥檛 be changed.
Its relative isolation, for one, makes it an ideal spot to carry on any number of illegal and disruptive activities, away from prying eyes. And the convenient downtown location no doubt contributes to the park鈥檚 desirability as a place to congregate.
We鈥檙e interested to know what, if anything, the City can do to get a real and lasting handle on the problem.
It鈥檚 no doubt worth five grand to the people who live around Rotary Centennial Park to find out.
