Thread by @akurjata

I'm watching Prince George's first city council meeting of 2021. Tonight's agenda is very much focused on downtown with reports from RCMP, the poverty reduction committee, the business improvement association and committee on safe and inclusive downtown #cityofPG

You can livestream here: princegeorge.ca/City%20Hall/Pa… and get the agenda here pub-princegeorge.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?I…

Among decisions expected to be made last night:

* Additional funding to downtown RCMP patrols
* The opening of a downtown safety office staffed by new bylaw officers
* Contracting of a company to clean up biohazards in camps and around shelters
* Increased housing #cityofPG

First up is a delegation from a group called the COMMUNITY RECOVERY TASK FORCE, consisting of Prince George Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Prince George, and Gateway Business Association.

@PGChamberCEO is presenting on their behalf.

pub-princegeorge.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ash…

Corrigal says drug use is having a negative impact on the business community in the form of paraphenelia being left outside businesses downtown. Wants safe supply program to continue but with more resources for treatment.

Corrigal says the city's strategy of making people think the downtown is "safe, clean and inclusive" will only work if downtown IS safe, clean and inclusive.

ps for full effect also follow @cath_garrett and @hannaepeter then you can have coverage in triplicate.

Coun. Murry Krause is asking why there are no community groups focused on poverty reduction or living with addiction are part of this working group "given they are the experts... I think it would be necessary" for them to be included, he says. #cityofPG

Next item: Coun. @garthfrizzell has pulled an item highlighting the high amount of construction in 2020. Despite the pandemic, the city had near-record highs. news.princegeorge.ca/en/news/total-… #cityofPG

Onto the report from the Select Committee on Poverty Reduction, chaired by coun. Murry Krause.

Here's the report. pub-princegeorge.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ash…

Hearing from staff liason Sarah Brown. Lots of details in it but high-level thing is there is a need to create access for fundamental services including:
* housing
* childcare
* medical/dental
* education/employment upgrades

etc.

https://twitter.com/hannaepeter/status/1348824745467285506

We've now moved on to a presentaion from the mayor on the new Select Committee on a Safe, Clean, and Inclusive Community. This is the one that comes with recommendations, and budget implications #CityofPG

Hall says the goal of this is for the city to take the lead in a coordinated approach to tackling interconnected issues including crime, mental health, safety and addictions by working with groups including BC Housing, RCMP, poverty reduction groups, business and province+feds

Key ways of doing this:
* Working alongside major B.C. city mayors to lobby province + feds through BC Urban Mayors caucas
* open a downtown public safety office (more on this later)

#cityofPG

https://twitter.com/hannaepeter/status/1348829574444904449

Bit of commentary here, though: Tonight we've heard from three different committees, two run by the city, that seem to have pretty overlapping agendas. Not *exactly* the same, but very close

OK now Supt. Shaun Wright is up to provide his year-end report on 2020

Wright says this report is coming a little earlier than normal but "like everyone we want to see 2020 behind us"

Wright points out that prison numbers continue to go down "depending on your perspective that's a good thing or bad thing" but he says it is a good thing in his view

Two reasons for prisoner decline
1. new rules in which people aren't put in prison for violating court orders if they aren't deemed a risk
2. COVID-19 reduced the amount of shoplifting/robbery going on as businesses closed #cityofPG

Wright says despite what many expected, Prince George did not see a spike in domestic assault calls. 2020 sa overall decrease in attacks of all sorts #cityofPG

COVID decreased break-and-enters, robberies, etc as people stayed home Wright says. Fewer false alarms, fewer mental health calls.

Onto the downtown: Foot patrols have been going out with bylaw officers. Apparently washrooms open in Canada Games Plaza were "a challenge" because people would "congregate there" which is "fine" because it's a "free country" but businesses complained. #cityofPG

Wright says one of his key priorities in 2020 and into 2021 is establishing a sobering centre in Prince George, which he says is "decades overdue". Running a pilot project in 2021. Sobering centre was recommended by a jury in 2018 in this case cbc.ca/news/canada/br… #cityofPG

Wright also says the establishment of a youth centre by Carrier Sekani Tribal Services in December has already had a positive impact on the community. cc @doanerkhm

cbc.ca/news/canada/br…

Wright says the "vast, vast" majority of calls to RCMP downtown are non-criminal. Things like people sleeping outside a business and people not liking it or someone with mental health issues yelling in the street

Wright says, I paraphrase, he knows lots of people are scared of downtown thinking they will be attacked or assaulted but the statistics don't bear that out. It's more people being scared of people who are homeless or hanging out on the street who don't present an actual threat

(one thing that's been interesting about these RCMP reports over the last few years is how much of it is the head cop sending the message that arresting people isn't a good solution to the majority of the reasons they get called downtown and pushing for more alternatives)

they have been establishing multiple partnerships with them and plan to expand them, such as this. Very much a central part of their current strategy cbc.ca/news/canada/br…

https://twitter.com/kihcokimaw/status/1348835739635630081

Wright says COVID-19 has been a challenge as many officers have had to isolate, often leading to minimum staffing levels

Another major challenge Wright says was the impact of the fatal motel fire, the "horrific" nature of which impacted the mental health of many of the first responders who attended cbc.ca/news/canada/br…

And another future challenge Wright is flagging is the establishment of the Surrey munipal police force. He expects to lose a few Prince George RCMP members who grew up there, but says should do better than RCMP stations in Lower Mainland

cc @j_mcelroy

Had to step away for a sec but Wright is talking about another priority for 2021 is for police to conduct themselves even better than he public expects them to. Needs to be high standard.

Coun. Cori Ramsay asks about RCMP's approach to open drug use, which is a frequent complaint.

Wright says it's not really worthwhile to arrest for drug use, better to encourage use in safe consumption site #cityofPG

Krause brings up issues around washrooms in Canada Games Plaza and says it is important to recognize it may have created some challenges but need to acknowledge "it also met a need". Wright: "Yep, I don't disagree" #cityofPG

Here's more on the downtown bathroom program being discussed: cbc.ca/news/canada/br… #cityofPG

Brian Skakun is now speaking and he says downtown is a "lawless zone" where you can sell "crystal meth, coke, whatever you want" and nothing happens, when it wouldn't be allowed anywhere else in the city. #cityofPG

Wright says the approach is to figure out what is the best thing RCMP can do with their finite resources - is it worthwhile to arrest people, or try to redirect them?

Missed the exact number, but Wright sas only a handful of COVID-19 arrests have been made. Fewer than ten.

WE ARE STILL GOING. Onto the Downtown and Area Service Enhancement Package. Here's what's been approved so far, and there will be some discussion around some of these items

Specifically, it's being suggested that rather than spend $400,000 on hiring more downtown security, it be spent on hiring four new bylaw officers who would have a "boots on the ground" approach and increase hours bylaw officers are available

Opening of office timeline: March/April 2021
Hiring of bylaw officers: ASAP

That's it for the downtown/safety stuff. I'm tapping out. Some interesting things left on the agenda around the costs of the George St. Parkade but there will be good reporting on it in yer local media.

Correction to this: Carrier Sekani Family Services is behind the centre, not Tribal Council