City of Vernon has removed a number of encampments from park lands over the last week. Staff from City operations and bylaw compliance were involved in removing large volumes of refuse from camp locations in Polson Park and Kal Tire Place green spaces. Campers in these locations had been provided with posted and verbal notices that camps would be decommissioned for the health and safety of the campers, residents and sensitive environmental areas.
“The state of the camps was such that both unsanitary and unsafe conditions were occurring, and both public safety and the safety of the users were at risk," said Clint Kanester, Manager of Protective Services. "In addition, creek contamination, environmental concerns and criminal activity being accommodated in specific camps were of community concern."
A number of fires had occurred both in tents and in materials hauled into the camps. Additionally, large numbers of needles and general lack of sanitation in the camps concerned the City, which has received a higher-than-normal volume of calls from the public regarding these sites.
"Materials hauled into the camps are left behind once the first snowfall occurs, creating additional issues and costs in order to clean up these materials in the spring," said Kanester.
The cleanup costs for abandoned and decommissioned camps in Vernon this year is approximately $25,000.
The City has been working closely with service agencies to provide outreach and ensure that shelter space was available for campers.