A report going to city council tonight will provide multiple options to consider when it comes to improving safety in Windsor's Mitchell Park.
The report from administration is in response to a question from Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino who asked at the March 19 council meeting if it would be possible to have a staff member assigned to the park to help run programs, or if the Canada Summer Jobs program has a grant available to cover the cost of hiring a young person as part of a potential pilot project.
He raised this issue after hearing from people in his ward about some violence and aggressive behaviour by some kids in the park, specifically around the basketball court.
The report indicates it's late in the year to apply for a grant under the Canada Summer Jobs program and staff hired with that grant money are not trained as program instructors.
Administration did meet with the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative which has a number of initiatives in the downtown area already including offering free outdoor programming for youth at Bruce and Wigle Parks.
The DWCC is considering rotating some of their outdoor programming from Bruce and Wigle to Mitchell Park on various nights but does not have enough staffing to offer daily programming at Mitchell.
The report suggests the possibility of the city offering a free drop in program as a two-month pilot program during the months of July and August, working along side the initiatives offered by the DWCC, which would cost an estimated $16,244.
Agostino says he likes the idea of working with the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative.
"They've offered to take a few of the days through their Canada Summer Jobs program. To me the costs are all minimal when it all comes down to it," he says.
The report also says the Windsor Police Service is utilizing Auxiliary Officers to patrol high priority parks identified by WPS and the City and include Jackson Park, Dieppe, Lanspeary, Forest Glade, the riverfront and Festival Plaza and Willistead Park.
Following discussions between police and administration within the Parks and Recreation departments, WPS has indicated that they will allocate more time to be spent at Mitchell Park throughout the spring and summer months.
Agostino says he prefers to see more programming than police.
"I like to see more activation, I like to see more activities involving the kids. I'm not really a big fan of people walking through the park at certain times of day or private security. I'm not really a big fan of it but at this point I'm certainly prepared to have a discussion with the rest of council," he says.
Agostino says police patrols don't deal with the root of the problem, we need leadership and some fun.
"A parks supervisor, otherwise known as a 'soupy', brings that level of respect to the community, to the park and really gives kids something to do. A lot of the kids that go to the park and cause problems, everyone was a kid once, everybody went to the park and everybody caused problems. A lot of the reasons you cause problems is because you have nothing else to do," he says.
The report does warn that utilizing City of Windsor summer students or recreational programming staff to deter mischief creates a significant risk to those staff. Summer students and recreational camp and program staff are generally young, working for the first time, and putting them in the position to monitor parks for safety could lead to unsafe conditions for the young workers.
Mitchell Park is located just off Giles Boulevard, not far from Bruce Avenue.
Windsor City Council will meet at 4 p.m. Monday at Windsor City Hall.