Harbour Grace Town vehicles to get trackers
Harbour Grace Town vehicles will soon be equipped with GPS tracking devices.
Councillor Gordon Stone put forward the motion at last week’s public council meeting.
The cost of installing the GPS technology in the vehicles will cost some $4,447. There will also be a monthly recurring fee of $220.
Mayor Don Coombs cited safety as the primary reason for the move.
“We've got our employees out in the winter, if somebody breaks down or something, it's a safety issue," he said.
Coombs noted that sometimes the Town's employees have to work in terrible conditions. He added the expenditure is within council’s budget.
Councillor Terry Barnes said other towns are also installing the technology. The motion to approve the expenditure carried unanimously.
In other council news, councillors Gordon Stone and Brendan Chafe reported that issues raised to them by residents were quickly taken care of by staff.
“I like to always mention calls that I get from citizens," said Stone, "because we want to encourage citizens to feel that, if they have a problem, they're welcome to call any of us and talk about it. Then maybe we can do something to help — hopefully we can.”
Stone said he recently got a call from a resident who was having trouble with the water service. The communication between the resident and Stone, and subsequently between Stone, the Town Manager, and the public works superintendent, led to a resolution of the issue.
Chafe chimed in to describe a similar experience; a resident contacted him a few weeks ago concerned about the water pressure to his home. Chafe communicated the problem to Public Works Superintendent Patrick Hearn, who rectified the issue the same day.
Stone concluded the discussion by encouraging residents to contact council if they have any issues.
Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Shoreline News
