Mayor Doug Leroux wants young Penetang residents to know that basketball courts in town are off-limits.
"Our biggest problem that I've heard was the young people still playing basketball," he said Monday. "It's a good possibility that if they continue doing that, we will just remove the basketball nets."
Jeff Lees, chief administrative officer, said staff put up signage and tapes off the court at the Rotary Champlain Wendat Park but staff noticed last week that the tape had been taken down. Further measures have not yet been finalized but could include snow fencing, additional signage, and maybe even taking down the nets and rims down, he added.
"We had taken measures we thought would be appropriate," Lees said, "but then when you have the community taking the caution tape down and disregarding the signs."
He was cautious not to label it as vandalism.
"I don't know, to be honest," Lees said. "I don't think I want to go down that path right now. Certainly, when there are situations like that we have a protocol we follow."
He said he would like to remind the public that all recreational facilities, such as playgrounds, dog parks, and community gardens, are off-limits.
"At the end of the day, there's a bit of social responsibility, too," Lees said. "We're going to take whatever other measures we have to, they may be more than just signage, but I can't say right now what that might look like."
He said Penetanguishene is not considering increased OPP and municipal bylaw officer patrols for its beaches, even though Tiny Township made the move Sunday.
"Obviously, Tiny Township has taken a position; they have a whole host of beaches," Lees said. "We can't say that the OPP will be policing our beaches because that's not realistic and practical. It will be something we will continually monitor with the control group."
Currently, said Leroux, all beaches have been posted as off-limits for public use.
Aside from the complaint about basketball court usage, so far compliance with municipal and government directions have been going well, he noted.
"We're making these decisions for the safety of everyone," Leroux said. "Hopefully, we can get by without having any cases locally. It's very difficult at times to adhere to all these restrictions. We know that there are people out there that are not adhering to recommendations, not doing the social distancing. You're seeing it everywhere, it's everywhere."
He said he would like to commend essential workers employed at grocery stores and pharmacies for their hard work.
"The one thing I have to say is that they're both well-organized and prepared in doing their job," Leroux said. "I have to commend those frontline workers. From what I could see, they have been able to maintain the level of service and product up to this time, for how long, I don't know."
In the case of non-compliance, Lees said, the OPP and municipal bylaw officers have the ability to enforce orders under the Municipal and Civil Protection Act.
According to a press release from the OPP last week, 911 is only to be used for emergencies. For all other policing matters, contact the Southern Georgian Bay OPP through the non-emergency line at 1-888-310-1122, or use the Online Reporting feature on the OPP website.
Allegations of non-compliance with the EMCPA can be made by calling the OPP non-emergency line only, the release says. To confirm whether a specific situation is non-compliant, contact the Stop the Spread Business Information Line at 1-888-444-3659 . Assistance is available Monday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information please visit ontario.ca/stopthespread.
Further, allegations of price gouging can be called in at 1-800-889-9768, between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday or filed online.
"I think it's fair to say that if people have concerns, there's a couple mechanisms that residents can use to voice those concerns," Lees said. "At the end of the day, folks should be reporting if they have concerns."
According to an update released by the Town of Penetanguishene Monday afternoon, the wharf and boat launch ramp will remain closed until further notice.
Lees said the town will continue to monitor the situation with direction provided by the province through its twice weekly emergency control meetings. Public and slip renters will be provided ongoing communication around this as the situation progresses.
Council met last week to discuss certain matters, such as delegating decision-making authority to the mayor and CAO and to approve interest and penalty waivers for residents.
