Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Proclaiming to be at their ‘wit’s end’ in dealing with teenagers loitering on the Belleville Road and First Avenue pathway beside their house, Debra DaDalt and Peter Walker sought help from Greater Napanee council.
Upon hearing their deputation, council put forward a motion to have staff put together a report on some options to deal with the matter, which will be discussed at a future meeting.
“Two weeks before Christmas, we had several bags of garbage with drug paraphernalia thrown over our fence, we found several condoms on the walkway,” explains DaDalt. “We have neighbours who do use the walkway but are constantly being harassed. When school starts most of the people stop using the walkway and return again in June the following year. They don’t want to be spat on, they don’t want to be cursed at.”
The home is adjacent Napanee District Secondary School, where many of the alleged offenders attend.
DaDalt also told council she’s had profane words vandalized on her car and racist slurs written on her fence.
“My fear is if this continues, it’s just going to continue to escalate,” said DaDalt. “Unfortunately anytime we call the police, we get retribution.”
She says the apartment next door saw four of their windows smashed after they had filed a complaint with the OPP.
“We’re at our wit’s end,” added Walker. “We can’t use our home the way we should be able to use our home, the way we have a right to use our home.”
Councillor Bob Norrie agreed.
“I stood there over three lunches and you are 100 per cent right,” Norrie told them. “I have some ideas, but it’ll take a committee and plans but something has to be done soon. From my past life as a police officer in Hamilton, what I saw there should not be tolerated by anyone.”
Mayor Marg Isbester said she’d like to see a quick resolution, but also noted there are some logistics involved. One option is to sell the walkway land to the home owners and close it completely, though everyone involved agreed that would be their last resort. Deputy mayor Max Kaiser said he’d like to have town staff meet with the OPP to discuss further options.
“There may be alternatives to closing it,” said Isbester. “But it can’t be used for the purposes that it’s being used.”
Greater Napanee CAO Ray Callery told council he would have staff put together a report with recommendations which will be presented at a future meeting.
In other council news: the town announced Corcoran Excavating Ltd. would be awarded the tender for the third and final stage of the Dundas Street reconstruction. Greater Napanee will pay $1.4 million for water main and sanitary sewer reconstruction plus an additional $405, 446 for the Robinson Street roadway. Lennox and Addington County will cover the additional $2.3 million of the $4.1 million total cost. The construction will include Robinson Street to Hessford Street and Robinson Street from Mill Street to Belleville Road and will take place this summer.
-Council also adopted its 2019 budget meeting schedule. They include Jan. 24 to discuss utilities, municipal tax rate comparisons, Feb. 14 for major expense review and fleet rationalizations, March 7 for an assessment update and operating budget and March 21 for operating and capital budget. All meetings will begin at 6 p.m.at town hall.