May 5, 2011
Concerns raised over
town hall opening
by Vance Gutzman
Opening the doors isn't going to be as easy as opening the doors.
That was the message handed down to Deep River council in response to
Mayor David Thompson's suggestion that the lobby of the town hall
should be opened up to the public.
Thompson made a motion to that end in February, calling for the
lobby of the town hall to be open from 8 am to 10 pm, 365 days a year.
The motion was tabled to allow time for staff to acquire more
information on the feasibility of the idea.
That information has now come back to council, and shows that there are
a number of factors which may cause the mayor's idea to come unhinged.
In an issue report to council, the town's chief administrative officer,
Michelle Larose, noted that the office hours for the town's front line
staff would have to be changed to accommodate opening the lobby.
Those hours are currently from 8:30 am to 5 pm, but there is one staff
member who works alone for the last half-hour of every day.
Larose recommended the hours for all front-line staff be changed from
8:30 to 4:30, so nobody is working alone.
That change, however, would have to take place regardless of whether
the lobby is open to the public or not, as the town has identified a
safety risk to the lone staff person under auspices of its "Violence in
the Workplace" policy.
There would be, however, some tangible costs associated with the
mayor's idea.
For one thing, the town would need to install a key switch on the
elevator, to allow only authorized personnel to access the town hall's
basement.
That would mitigate both the risk of violence towards staff from
members of the public, and also the risk of mischief and vandalism.
A key switch limiting access to the basement would cost just over
$2,500.
Like the staffing hours, though, that's something Larose felt should be
done anyway, under the auspices of the violence in the workplace policy.
Security cameras would also have to be installed to deter vandalism,
and those would run the town just over $3,500, while new locks on the
council chamber doors would run around $200.
Firefighters, meanwhile, would be faced with the responsibility of
ensuring nobody was in the lobby prior to locking the doors at 10 pm,
and Larose said the cleaners have reported that they would charge extra
to clean up any acts of vandalism, and could not guarantee their
availability first thing in the morning should their services be
required.
Before rendering a decision on whether to allow public access to the
building outside office hours, Larose noted in her report, council
should also be aware that needles and spoons for drug use have already
been found in the lobby's public washrooms during normally scheduled
daytime hours.
Alcohol bottles have also been found, she noted, while soap was poured
all over the floor of the lobby during recent registrations for cubs
and scouts, necessitating three extra hours of time by the cleaners.
Deputy Mayor Mary MacCafferty has been against the mayor's idea since
he first suggested it and showed no signs of backing down from that
position.
"I'm not really in favour of this," MacCafferty said, while reiterating
her position that a number of community groups already use the town
hall lobby for their events.
"Who else are you intending to come in and what will they be doing
here?" MacCafferty asked the mayor.
MacCafferty noted that vandalism is presently curbed by the presence of
staff members during regular daytime hours.
Thompson did not reply to her question, and council accepted Larose's
issue report as information, without making a decision as to whether or
not to proceed with the idea.
|
