Township looks to add wireless cameras in 'priority' areas
Jan 19, 2010 - 04:30 AM
By Jeff Hayward
UXBRIDGE -- Uxbridge officials are looking for those responsible for vandalism during the holiday season.
Sometime just before Christmas, vandals armed with spraycans added their versions of art to Uxbridge's historic train station and the newly-acquired Kennedy House on Main Street North. The Township is offering a $1,000 reward for a tip leading to a conviction related to the damage.
Bob Ferguson, Uxbridge's parks and facilities manager, said the unwanted paint on the train station has since "been cleaned up". Graffiti on Kennedy House is an ongoing problem, with the latest addition also appearing before Christmas, said Mr. Ferguson. However, the Township late last year accepted a recommendation from the Kennedy House advisory committee to demolish all buildings on the site.
Meanwhile, Uxbridge Mayor Bob Shepherd said the Township is looking at installing wireless cameras to catch vandals in the act. He said there is $60,000 in the 2010 budget, yet to be approved by council, for the cameras, which would allow images "to be beamed back to a central station." That means even if someone tried to remove a camera, the footage would still be available off-site, said the mayor.
He didn't say how many cameras would be purchased or where they'd be set up, but noted the location of the devices would be based on "priority ... a lot of the (vandalism) is related to parks and recreation." Cameras may be added to the library property, he added.
A "big issue" is graffiti on private property outside Township jurisdiction, said the mayor, noting the goal is to remove the paint as soon as it appears.
"I'm trying to deal with that," he said of getting it cleaned up.
Anyone with information about the graffiti on the train station or Kennedy House should call Bob Ferguson at 905-852-3081.
Recommend :