Select Committee hosts second meeting

PRINCE GEORGE – The Select Committee of a Safe, Clean and Inclusive Downtown, now named the Select Committee on a Safe, Clean and Inclusive Community, met for the second time after its inception.

It was given a presentation on what enhancements it could address to deal with the social issues in the downtown. Specifically, it has been tasked to look at upgrading two Bylaw Services and adding two more Bylaw Services Officers to the tune of $189,051, the creation of a two-member RCMP patrol to work seven days per week at a cost of $273,249 and increasing staff and equipment for downtown clean up and illegal camp cleanups. That would add $490,495 to the City’s bottom line. All totalled, what the Committee is looking at is a .87% increase to the tax levy.

However, the City has already identified some “Must-do’s,” as it calls them, from the bigger suite of enhancements. They are beyond the purvue of the Committee. They are additional security costs for security in civic facilities for $400,000 upgrades to the 2nd Avenue Parkade and the continued existence of the downtown homeless hubs for $236,000. The parkade upgrades will be covered through parking fees and will not have budget implications. In the end, if undecided elements remain as is, the total implication will be $1.42 million or 1.67% to the tax levy.

But, when the question of enforcement of illicit activities such as open drug use arose, the Committee also heard from the RCMP’s Officer-In-Charge, Superintendent Shaun Wright that the Crown “is not entertaining charges” on that front. So it begged the question from those representing business: What’s the point of hiring more officers?