Junior C, High School teams, and rec leagues would be responsible for the cost.
During a discussion at the Dec. 7 committee of the whole meeting the issue was discussed at length.
“I would like to minimally see some investigation into whether other arenas have that kind of qualified or certified security in place and look into this,” said Councillor Shaun Hatfield. “
“It is huge. Liability is increasingly a number one issue for organizations in general and we’re not exempt by a long shot,” he said.
Councillor Cathy Stoddard commented that an RCMP officer has been on site for several games in the past however she, and several other councillors, say the responsibility should not be placed on officers.
“The RCMP officer going there is awesome, however I think it’s a little bit of overkill. We hire RCMP officers and pay them what? $70 or 80,000 a year?”
“We pay $103,000”, interjected clerk Brian Holland.
“That’s a little pricey for a security guard at the arena,” said Stoddard.
“I’d rather see that RCMP officer go about the municipality and checking on thousands of people instead the 150 at the arena,” she said.
“We’ve got to do this for every other taxpayer in this municipality,” she added, referring to associated costs that council would have to bear from a liable lawsuit.
Warden Louise Halliday also stressed the potential impact of liability.
“I think the thing that we need to do is make sure we are covering ourselves. If someone gets hurt, it’s not going to come back on us,” she said.
The Committee of the Whole approved a motion to recommend to council that research be conducted into the cost of security and also to investigate what other municipalities do about the issue.
Hockey teams may have to hire security at Barrington arena
By Carla Allen THE COAST GUARD NovaNewsNow.com The Municipality of Barrington is talking about researching the cost of hiring security guards because of concerns about liability from damage incurred during potential hockey tournament.
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