By Tiffany Goodwein

Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce expresses support for private security

Oct 16, 2019 | 8:00 AM

The Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce stood before Vernon city council Tuesday to give a nod of support towards private security.

“Many business owners are worn out and tired of being victims,” said Krystin Kempton, president of the business group.

“We appreciate the city exploring private security downtown as we believe private security will add extra eyes and ears, particularly during overnight hours,” she added.

Kempton stressed that the safety and security concerns are not just limited to the downtown core and noted attention in the form of private security is needed in other commercial areas as well.

Coun. Kelly Fehr said he is pleased to hear that the chamber is not solely looking at the downtown core as an area in need of private security support.

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“If we are looking at investing in the community, I do believe it needs to be a larger scope,” Fehr said.

A motion to explore seasonal private security was brought forward by Coun. Scott Anderson and Coun. Kari Gares this past summer.

The city released a request for quotes in Sept. for security companies to bid on the job.

The RFQ closes on Wednesday and information on costs is expected to be revealed at a later council meeting.

Meanwhile, efforts are also on the way to lobby the provincial and federal governments for additional mental health and residential addiction treatment funding.

“Currently access to those services is extremely challenging for low income residents and that means their conditions only worsen. Not only do they pay a price for an unresponsive system but so do their families, their co-workers and their employers.”

The chamber has requested for the city’s support in their lobbying efforts.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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