COUNTY TO SPEND UP TO $35,000 FOR SECURITY GUARD
By David Judd
Talbot Gardens arena in Simcoe is getting a year-round security guard after all.
County council changed its mind last Wednesday and approved hiring a guard to deter problems with drug users and homeless people at the downtown arena.
Two weeks earlier, councillors had turned down hiring guards for Talbot Gardens and the county’s nearby administration headquarters.
But last week councillors heard from parents and others concerned about children encountering drug users and paraphernalia inside and outside the arena.
An online petition with more than 165 signatures called for hiring a security guard.
Speaking to councillors by video link, parent Paul McGhie said his five-year-old son picked up drug paraphernalia outside the arena.
Fortunately, the boy was not harmed.
Other parents have found people passed out in the washrooms, Mr. McGhie said.
Incidents virtually disappeared after council hired a security guard as an experiment between December and March.
Staff recorded five minor incidents during the $30,000 experiment.
On April 8, councillors refused to budget $35,000 to renew the service for the 2025–26 hockey season.
Last Wednesday—as Waterford Coun. Kim Huffman put it —councillors had sober second thoughts.
Children will play lacrosse at Talbot Gardens in the summer.
And there was news that an overnight shelter for homeless at nearby First Baptist Church will operate year round, not just in cold months.
Some users of the shelter are believed to hang out at the arena when the shelter is closed.
Coun. Huffman urged council to hire a security guard.
“I feel very strongly that it is a responsibility of council. This is a community issue and it’s a community concern and we need to show leadership,” she said.
Simcoe Coun. Alan Duthie said it was concerning that council refused to renew the security guard because councillors didn’t want to spend the money.
Groups do programming but it’s up to Norfolk to make sure the arena is safe, he said.
The new bottom line last Wednesday: council authorized spending up to $35,000 for a security guard at Talbot Gardens from May to December.
The guard will be on duty when children use the arena.
Port Dover Coun. Adam Veri voted against hiring a security guard, not because he’s against having a guard but because he thinks user groups should pay the costs through higher fees.
User groups want extra service but they shouldn’t pass costs to taxpayers, he told council last Wednesday.
Coun. Veri cited examples in Port Dover where users paid for increased service.
The legion is paying a fee to rezone its parking lot.
Seniors aren’t subsidized to have a seniors centre. They pay rent to Norfolk County.
Lions own and subsidize a hardball baseball diamond and users pay to play there.
Boaters are paying increased fees to use the Port Dover Harbour Marina.
And during COVID, users of county facilities paid higher fees for security guards and cleaning services, Coun. Veri pointed out.
Coun. Huffman responded that groups pay fees to use the ice or arena floor.
Security is above and beyond. It’s a problem unique to Simcoe and not comparable to other wards, she said.
The risk is too high that one child might make a fatal mistake of picking up drug paraphernalia, Langton Coun. Linda Vandendriessche said.
People from all Norfolk wards use Talbot Gardens, she said.
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Originally published April 30, 2025
