Chatham-Kent council is looking to spend just under $27,000 to reconfigure their council chambers to create a more secure environment for council, staff, and visitors.
At tonight’s council meeting, council will discuss reconfiguring their meeting area. A proposed reconfiguration will create a physical barrier between members of the public, and council and Chatham-Kent staff.
In a report to council, administration said there have been recent incidents where the public has made verbal threats and had physical altercations with council members and staff. Staff said these situations have created safety concerns for council, staff, and the public that attend the meetings.
Those incidents have brought the issue of council safety to the forefront and made Chatham-Kent look at security measures and update threat assessments.
In a report to council, administration said the existing configuration of the Chatham-Kent council space does not have any hard barriers to ensure the public does not enter areas only permitted to council and staff.
The reconfiguration also adds additional seating for the public in the council chambers.