By Cheryl Jahn

Chamber Presents

Chamber presents a plan for the city

Dec 16, 2019 | 9:28 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The local Chamber of Commerce, alongside Downtown Prince George and the Gateway DBIA, presented a series of recommendations to Council last night about how to address some of the challenges facing the community, not just the downtown which has been the focus of a great deal of attention lately.

“This is not a downtown issue. This is a community issue. Spruceland experiences issues. The Hart experiences issues,” said Todd Corrigall, CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.

One of the recommendations directed at the City includes: “That the City of Prince George provides an additional six officers and two support staff to the Prince George RCMP and that these new members are assigned to uniformed patrols of the Downtown and Gateway areas. The new members and support staff are estimated to create an expenditure of $1.8 million per annum. Out of an abundance of caution, we are requesting that Mayor and Council for the City of Prince George consider this allocation necessary to enhance public safety and defer other spending to create a net zero budget impact.”

It also calls on the City to improve lighting in the downtown as well as clean up.

As for the Province, another six recommendations were proposed, including one that states: “That the Ministry and Children and Family Development be compelled to release unused, or under-utilized property at the Prince George Youth Custody Centre to BC Housing and the Health Ministry to create additional beds, short term sobering centres and long term addictions counselling and recovery services.”

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When asked what would help in the immediate future, the President of Downtown Prince George, Eoin Foley noted “boots on the ground” would help to improve the sense of security.

The group also brought forward a series of resolutions that went before the Union of B.C. Municipalities in September and was assured by Councillor Murray Kruse that all resolutions passed at the convention are always on the agenda for the UBCM executive. Corrigall says the Chamber “will absolutely” be a secondary organization to take those resolutions to government.

Council received the report, saying those recommendations would be added to the long list that the new Select Committee on a Safer, Cleaner and Inclusive will address in the new year.