Nanaimo city council members voted unanimously not to recommend construction of fencing at city hall parking lots, fencing that staff had requested for their safety.
The topic was discussed at a finance and audit committee meeting Wednesday, July 16. Staff recommended a $412,000 project to put up wrought-iron fencing around the parking lots at city hall and the service and resource centre across the street in order to deter illegal activities on the grounds and protect staff from impacts of social disorder.
Dale Lindsay, the city's chief administrative officer, made clear that the requested project was staff-initiated, not council-initiated, and said WorkSafe considerations were the primary motivator.
"Employers must take steps to ensure a safe work environment for all workers, including identifying and addressing hazards鈥�" he said. "There's real consequences for not living up to those responsibilities."
Dave LaBerge, the city's director of public safety, said within his department since 2018, there have been 2,596 incident reports documented around city hall, with 1,218 relating to social disorder, 464 for other security concerns, 218 encampments or structures set up, 77 incidents requiring police response, and 18 incidents involving weapons. He noted those incidents are just the ones recorded by community safety officers and bylaws staff, and don't include reports from parks, landscaping and custodial staff.
"Police and CSOs are routinely finding weapons including bear spray, knives, brass knuckles and firearms on the street鈥�" he said. "These are the types of challenges that are occupational safety 鈥� we're not talking about trips and falls and sprains and slippery surfaces."
Barry Hornby, senior community safety officer, said "it's a miracle that city hall hasn't burned down" with all the set fires outside the building, and said the area between city hall and the overdose prevention site is "like a thoroughfare of drug dealers driving through."
He expressed frustration that instead of being able to help people in other neighbourhoods, CSOs are tied up or delayed by the amount of work it takes to keep city hall safe and open.
"I'd rather have my team in the rest of the community than staying at our building effectively acting as security guards," he said.
None of the city's custodial staff members wish to work at city hall or the service and resource centre, reported Mike Bryson, deputy director of civic facilities.
"You talk to those folks and they do handle it quite well, but you can tell that there's definitely concern for PTSD 鈥� Anybody that works down there on the custodial staff, whether it's day shift or night shift, feel those effects."
He said from city staff's perspective, "there's no way we can put up as many fences as we want."
Mayor Leonard Krog said he understands the "fear and frustration" felt by staff members, and Coun. Hilary Eastmure said although she never feels unsafe in the area, she recognizes that's thanks to the work of community safety officers.
However, no council member expressed support for constructing more fencing in the area. Eastmure said fencing would just re-locate problems.
"You'd be blocking access from one path but not another and I think it's just going to lead to migration around the building in a new configuration and not really solve anything," she said. "And we'll be back talking about a bigger perimeter fence."
She and Coun. Sheryl Armstrong suggested staff should have better informed council members about their concerns before bringing the report to the finance committee agenda. Armstrong added she couldn't support spending on a fence project after councillors had essentially said "too bad, so sad" to downtown residents speaking out against social disorder in their neighbourhood earlier at the same meeting.
Krog said a fence wouldn't provide value for dollar, and isn't the right approach to the issue.
"I can't work on the premise that our social disorder is going to continue like this," he said. "Having said that, putting up a fence reflects a contemplation that it's going to continue and indeed may potentially get worse."
