Anyone who has celebrated New Year’s Eve on Banff Avenue will have no trouble seeing where the RCMP is coming from in respect to increased presence at the beginning of the year event.
While fireworks at midnight are certainly a highlight of the event, to the casual observer it would often seem that the opportunity to carry and consume liquor in public, on the street, is, in fact, the highlight.
Therefore, nobody should balk at an additional $6,400 being spent to have extra members on hand as visitors and locals alike take to the streets.
After all, the Town of Banff just threw away $52,402 by cancelling a paid parking trial earlier than planned at the insistence of BRAPP (Banff Residents Against Paid Parking).
By comparison, spending $6,400 to ensure that things don’t get out of hand on Banff Avenue this New Year’s is mere common sense.
For those not in the know, the Banff New Year’s Eve celebration, while an obvious ringing in of the first night, is also one might be considered just barely on the edge of control.
In past years, Outlook staff attending the annual festivities have seen people quietly removing their children from Banff Avenue, or leaving early, as sometimes rowdy, scantily clad drunks can be found drinking, singing, taking selfies, climbing light poles, etc. At times, the mood can be nasty.
Much of this carrying on, of course, is weather dependent – an icy cold Jan. 1 reduces the rowdiness somewhat.
As well, in and among any given crowd, RCMP members can be seen forcing frolickers to pour out their booze, inform them that open liquor is not allowed and encourage them to move on. Many times, those who would normally be charged with liquor-related offences are left to simply carry on, no doubt likely due to a shortage of manpower.
Being that all of the closed portion of Banff Avenue is for everyone, including families with youngsters, it seems only prudent that the RCMP ensure New Year’s Eve is not an alcohol-fuelled celebration.
Staffing issues against the grain
Interesting that the Town of Banff is looking to go against the grain, municipally-speaking, in taking on the running of its utilities.
At a time when contracting out this type of work seems to be the norm, Banff is looking to take over from Epcor – as a cost savings measure.
Mind you, Banff has challenges unlike other municipalities, in particular, the ability to find more land to construct a multi-million dollar facility for Epcor to continue operations. In a landlocked town like Banff, where commercial space is allocated by lottery and complicated floor area ratio discussions accompany many projects, we suppose that alone is almost enough to go it alone.
Then again, projected savings of $350,000 are nothing to be sneezed at either.
As it stands, the decision to take on the responsibility for running all utilities is one that will have to be watched carefully to ensure staffing and payroll creep doesn’t insinuate itself into Town operations.
