Editor: Concerned citizens living near Tecumseh Park recently requested that the municipality consider erecting permanent fencing at the site of the Kiwanis Bandshell.
Such fencing would discourage the encampments that have once again become a regular occurrence on the stage of the bandshell. Other cities have installed such fencing in order to protect public property and to maintain the public nature of its parks and green spaces.
To no one’s surprise, C-K municipal officials responded to our request with a definitive “no.”
At about the same time, the Tecumseh Park Neighbourhood Association (TPNA) inquired about using the Kiwanis Bandshell for an outdoor neighbourhood concert. The municipality provided the TPNA with the documentation required for booking the bandshell, as well as information regarding the user fee required to do so.
If the TPNA and other community organizations are required to go through the proper channels, pay the appropriate fee, and receive permission to use this heritage structure, why are others permitted to vandalize and deface this space when they set up their encampments? Allowing these encampments in a public park designed for everyone in the community to enjoy is not a compassionate response to the obvious crisis of homelessness in our communities. It’s a clear abdication of civic responsibility.
Currently, the municipality is asking for input on its coming budget, and the first question in their Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent survey concerns the issue of homelessness in our community. Please tell our elected officials your personal stories of how the very real concerns of local residents are so often ignored as homelessness continues to grow in Chatham-Kent.
Jim & Christine Prosser
Chatham
