Task Force Will Discuss Homeless Issues

Photo: Business owner Vicki Eide speaks to media outside City Hall after making her presentation to council.

Vernon council has decided to set-up a task force to address issues of street people impacting downtown businesses

Business owner Vicki Eide presented a petition with dozens of names to council, calling for action to deal with the illegal activity.

“We feel we’re in a drug apocalypse, and that we’ve just become collateral damage, because no one really been paying attention what’s happened to us.”

Eide says they want some protection.

“So many people are scared to even come downtown. They’re afraid to come to our businesses.  Even the businesses are afraid to go to their businesses,” adds Eide who owns Dean’s Tailor Sho on 33rd Street.

Eide says all the illegal activity is hurting the bottom line for some merchants, even though a couple of councillors, Brian Quiring and Juliette Cunningham, said they don’t think its unsafe.

“That’s awesome that you have no issues, so that’s two. But I think the majority trumps. We’re suffering,” said Eide who was joined by about 20 supporters at Monday’s meeting.

Councillor Catherine Lord says a task force will look into the problems and make recommendations to council.

“It will have a couple of council people on it, a couple of staff members, people from social services and business people so we get both perspectives.”

Lord says the ideas could include hiring a private security firm to patrol the problem areas as was done with the Commissionaires a few years ago, or pursuing a safe injection site.

“Perhaps identify a piece of property where we could put some potta-potties on that and make it useful.”

Mayor Akbal Mund says the city is trying to do the best it can to deal with the complex issue.

“We just can’t — as was said to day — put them on a bus and ship the out of town. That’s not the way it works. So we will continue to work as we can, as a municipality, to solve the issue,” Mund tells Kiss FM.