Powell Lake cabin owners have petitioned City of Powell River councillors to make improvements to the Mowat Bay parking lot, where some of them have had vehicles damaged and items stolen.
At the May 16 committee of the whole meeting, Noel Poulin said he was appearing on behalf of some individuals and the Powell River Cabin Association.
“There were vehicle break-ins at Mowat Bay parking lot, for trucks and trailers, on February 25 and March 11,” said Poulin. He said his truck was one of the vehicles broken into.
“I brought this forward to the annual general meeting of the cabin association and we had a petition signed by a number of people. We did want to come back and make sure we were heard and to put forward some recommendations.”
Poulin said in total, eight vehicles have been broken into over the course of the two weekends. He said damage to all the vehicles included broken windows, paint and interior damage, broken dry boxes and numerous items, plus money and credit cards stolen.
“Over these two weekends, individual owners of the vehicles have now had to open up insurance policies for having their vehicles repaired by ICBC, which is a minimum cost of $300 per vehicle,” said Poulin. “For those who had money and valuables stolen, they will also be out of pocket for their losses and/or will need to start a claim on their home insurance, if possible, to replace the stolen items.”
Poulin said the Mowat Bay parking lot is a paid parking facility owned by the city that is not only used by residents of Powell River, but visitors as well. He said many cabin owners on Powell Lake purchase seasonal parking passes annually and require this facility to access their cabins.
“We anticipate the proceeds of the parking fees are going to help out in the maintenance for the park and boat launch for Mowat Bay,” said Poulin. “The parking lot does not currently have lights or security cameras, but does have a gate to exclude access, which I understand is not in use.”
Poulin said the delegation had some considerations for councillors. One was to install overhead lighting and signage of surveillance. Another was to install cameras and provide security similar to that at Powell River Recreation Complex.
A further recommendation was to install a caretaker similar to the Shinglemill parking lot. Utilizing the gate and locking the site between 11 pm and 5 am, or a suitable time frame, was also suggested.
Increasing security measures, petitioning the RCMP to increase patrols and updating city bylaws were further recommendations.
“I have chatted with the RCMP with regard to the break-ins of those eight vehicles and at this time there have been no charges, to my knowledge,” said Poulin. “Surveillance cameras, properly placed, and adding some lighting, would certainly make it a little more difficult for those who want to take advantage of us who are gone overnight.”
Councillor Jim Palm said he had spoken to senior city staff about the problem and they are working on the matter.
“’They are coming up with ideas,” said Palm. “Sunshine is going to bring out many more boaters and we need to do something soon.”
Interim chief administrative officer Tom Day said the matter had come up at the city directors meeting in the past week and city staff were looking at options.
“We would appreciate a copy of your written report with the various suggestions and I’ll have staff respond to your group,” added Day.
Powell River RCMP staff sergeant Rod Wiebe said he had performed a file run for Mowat Bay, and over the last five years, police responded to 70 incidents. The most common are reports of traffic offences and loud parties, said Wiebe.
“In 2023 we’ve only responded to four complaints down there, albeit one of those complaints involved the vehicles, in the incident the delegation has presented,” he added.
Councillor Cindy Elliott said she wanted to express support for staff coming back with information on the costs for a high-tech solution around surveillance, adding that it “might be the way to go.”
