June 2, 2011
Town to open lobby
doors
by Vance Gutzman
Throw open the doors, but not just yet.
Deep River council has passed a resolution that will see the lobby of
the town hall be open to the public from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a
week.
The motion which was passed at the last council meeting is watered
down, somewhat, from the one which Mayor David Thompson originally
brought forward back in February, in which the lobby would have been
accessible from 8 am to 10 pm, year-round.
By way of explanation, at the time, Thompson noted he was on the town
hall building committee 20 years ago, when he sat as reeve on municipal
council.
"The vision back then for the town hall was a community meeting place,"
Thompson told council.
"A place where people could gather and be welcome. This is a beautiful
town hall, it's paid for by the residents and the residents deserve
better utilization of it."
But the mayor's resolution met with some logistical problems last
month, when it was learned that, among other things, security cameras
would have to be installed, at a cost of $3,500, to deter vandalism,
while the cleaners would have to charge the town extra money to clean
up any acts of vandalism which may occur.
The town's chief administrative officer also noted last month that
needles and spoons, for drug use, had been found in the lobby's public
washrooms during normally scheduled daytime office hours.
The issue of potential vandalism to the lobby had been raised before by
Deputy Mayor Mary MacCafferty, and she raised the issue again when
Thompson introduced this latest resolution with the reduced opening
hours.
"Who else do you see using the town hall after hours, and what will
they be doing there?" she asked Thompson.
But the mayor responded by saying the town has to take a flyer on its
faith in human nature.
"If it's being vandalized, we can learn from that experience," Thompson
said.
"But I assume the best in people. That's my nature. I'm going to assume
the residents of this municipality will treat this building with
respect."
The mayor received support for his position from Councillor Terry Myers.
"The lobby was intended as a public space," Myers said.
"It's easy to make the argument that it's not a practical idea. All of
us in our daily lives do things that don't make practical sense."
When it came time to hold a recorded vote on the mayor's resolution,
however, Councillor Daniel Banks pointed out that, if passed, the
extended hours for the lobby would take effect immediately, whereas
security cameras and a key switch for the elevator had yet to be
installed.
"I don't think that issue has been addressed," Banks said.
In light of that, the word's "in principle" be added to the resolution,
until the necessary capital logistics have been ironed out.
In the subsequent recorded vote, only MacCafferty opposed the idea.
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