A Thorold man says the city hasn’t been doing enough to deal with social gatherings in Winterberry Park.
It was during an at-times heated meeting on Tuesday night that Ron Thomson, a neighbor of the park, right off Richmond Street, told the Planning and Development Services committee that he was concerned with crowds of regulars meeting up in the park, against social distancing recommendations.
“Word got out on social media that there was no policing there. People from outside are coming there to party,” Thomson told the committee.
He said the groups hanging out in the park had also caused damage to a tree, playground equipment, and their presence tended to be accompanied by speeding incidents according to Thomson, who said he had shown pictures of gatherings to city staff in attempts to get them to take action.
“I was hearing it was unacceptable, but nothing was done. There does not seem to be any concern with this from the city,” Thomson said.
Stage 3 does allow for outdoor gatherings to up to 100 people, but health officials continue to urge physical distancing and avoiding crowds in order to keep the lowering trend of COVID-19 in the community under control.
During the pandemic, it has been up to local bylaw enforcement to deal with unauthorized gatherings who have had the opportunity to issue tickets for those not following the rules.
In Thorold, the amount has been set at $750, but no tickets have been handed out as the city has taken a less heavy-handed educational approach when coming across larger gatherings.
Thomson said it’s not working.
“People are making a mockery of this so-called education approach,” he said, calling it ‘a big joke.’
Jason Simpson, the city’s chief building official said bylaw officers attended every time a complaint came in, and did proactive enforcement in the city of social gatherings.
“When we did attend, we either found no violations or people would disperse when asked to do so.”
When asked by Thomson if the city had issued any tickets, Simpson said no.
“If we found repeat offenders we would fine them.”
Thomson interjected:
So you did not find any repeat offenders?
“Not to the best of my knowledge,” said Simpson.
Thomson said he has a different picture, and added he had been asking for signage to be put up on the basketball field for three months.
“It’s the same people and the same cars, day after day.”
On the meeting was also Thorold fire chief Terry Dixon, who said he took offense with the image painted by Thomson.
“We have the whole city to look after. We have done a wonderful job. What would you like from us?”
Dixon said two police officers are responsible for activity in city parks after-hours.
“There is more than one park here. You have to stop and think about the big picture!”
Thomson accused Dixon of being ignorant in his answers – and Dixon in return called Thomson ‘uneducated’ in his answers about how the pandemic was being handled in Niagara, where other municipalities have opted for the educational approach.
However, fines have been handed out in St. Catharines and Fort Erie.
City councilor Ken Sentance, also on the committee, said he too was offended.
“We directed our bylaw officers to use education, and surrounding communities too. We can’t tell where everybody comes from. There is a big city we are trying to take care of.”
