Depending on how council votes Monday night, increased security could be coming to construction sites across Chatham-Kent.
Councillor Aaron Hall is bringing forward a motion that would have municipal staff provide recommendations to council outlining ways to bring additional security measures to construction project sites.
Recently, two reports of vandalism were filed just days apart on the Fifth Street Bridge in Chatham and the Lord Selkirk Bridge in Wallaceburg, both of which are under construction. Hall said the incidents and how detrimental they are to the construction projects, inspired him to create the motion.
"I know that Chatham-Kent, the municipality, invests in multiple construction projects on an annual basis that reaches millions and millions of dollars," he explained. "They're big investments. These projects are for many different areas of strategic focus for the municipality whether its infrastructure, recreation or just travel for the community. It's really essential for them to be done in a timely manner."
Hall said he doesn't have a lot of information about what kind of security measures are currently in place, adding he believes it would be worthwhile to see what can be done to make some improvements.
"That's what I'm hoping to get, a little bit of clarity on what's kind of in place now, what kind of different procedures are there now to protect these sites," said Hall. "I know its not quite something that's ignored, but my hope is with this motion, if it's approved by council, is to look at it, investigate, do some research."
On Monday night, Councillor Marjorie Crew will also put a motion to look at putting stricter bylaws in place for the selling of scrap metals. The motion comes after a string of copper thefts in the area. Hall said these kinds of motions work together to protect valuable investments in the community.
"It definitely goes hand in hand. I think there's the impact of some unfortunate incidents that occur in our community," said Hall. "We're just trying to be proactive I think as council to look into it, to investigate it... find some solutions."
