Staff
The town won’t be re-opening the Point Park office for the summer months to monitor activities of vandalism, as well as drug and alcohol use in the park.
At its Nov. 27 meeting, the town had received a request from Police Services Board chair John McTaggart to consider staffing the Point Park office “as a direct result of more calls for police service to the Point Park this past summer pertaining to the issue of long-term, transient individuals camping back in the bush, causing security issues with partying, drinking, and drug use.”
There also have been reports of the washrooms at the Point being vandalized and other campers being concerned about their safety, he added.
But after reviewing the request, town administration said it would be costly to re-open the office and possibly not that effective.
In a report from Operations and Facilities manager Travis Rob, he said the Point Park office has been closed since 2003 and the town has used an honour system with a deposit box.
“This system works reasonably well for the camper parking spots but collecting for the tenting spots is always a challenge,” he conceded.
Rob also noted that since the office has closed, the building has been utilized by the summer programs but minimal maintenance has beendone to the building.
“To open this office again would require some work and expense immediately, as well as ongoing investment in years to come,” he said.
“Immediately, there would have to be a desk system reinstated in the building as the previous system was removed a number of years ago,” Rob explained.
“Further, there would need to be a cash register, point of sale terminal, [and] phone and Internet supplied to the site,” he added.
This would cost about $1,800.
Looking ahead, the building also would require new windows and doors, as well as the roof to be replaced over the coming two-three seasons “to maintain the integrity and security of the building,” Rob noted.
In addition to the capital cost to get the office back up and running, there would be an operating cost to staff it.
The town would have to hire two additional student labourers dedicated to this site to provide seven day a week coverage.
Prior to its closure in 2003, the hours of operation were 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
For 2018, the staff costs alone would be $27,942.80 for labour and benefits.
Additionally, there would be an increase in electricity and communication costs going forward (around $1,500) and point-of-sale costs of $550.
This would be a net increase in the operating budget for the Point Park to the tune of $29,992.80.
As it is, the revenue forecast for 2018 in the Point Park is $15,000 while the total operating cost is forecast to be $23,304.26.
Rob noted there also would be a health and safety risk if students have to police unruly campers.
“This is not something that we would ask our students to do, nor do we have our students engage in this at any of our other facilities,” Rob stressed.
“All we would ask these individuals to do would be to call the OPP, which would not likely result in a reduced call volume to the park,” he reasoned.
Rob also noted Parks and Cemeteries workers are out at the Point every day during the summer to cut grass, check and clean washrooms and garbage, as well as collect fees from the office drop box, and they’ve not reported any issues such as those mentioned by the PSB.
“Therefore, the question is would staffing the office until 9 p.m. be sufficient to limit these acts, and it is unlikely that it would,” he remarked.
“Further, given the nature of the activities of concern by the Police Services Board, and to ensure the health and safety of workers, it is unlikely that having staff on-site would reduce OPP responses to the park,” Rob added.
