Trail Council approved extensions for night time security patrols and expanded service areas in local restaurants and pubs at the Governance and Operations Committee (GOC) meeting on Sept. 28.
City Patrols:
Trail council ramped up patrols after the initial pledge to enhance security in the downtown core came to a close.
Mayor Lisa Pasin reported that the expanded security patrols in the downtown previously approved by Council on Aug. 17, were scheduled to end Sept. 30.
The GOC discussed the current level of security patrols and whether supplementing the nightly patrols would benefit the community.
Council decided to maintain additional private security services until Dec. 31, but that the daytime patrols be discontinued. The city committed to increasing the nighttime patrols to four hours per day, Sunday through Wednesday, and six hours per day, Thursday through Saturday.
Council also allotted $6,500 for this additional service, which will be funded from the 2019 surplus.
Hospitality industry:
Local restaurants, pubs, liquor manufacturers, and cannabis stores can keep their expanded footprint for another year.
The City of Trail council approved the extension of the Temporary Expanded Service Area (TESA) that was required by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) at the Sept. 28 GOC meeting.
In an effort to bolster the hospitality industry, the province extended its temporary measures first introduced in May, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The extensions allow for expanded service areas, such as patios, and for the sale and delivery of unopened liquor products with the purchase of a meal by food-and-liquor-primary licensees.
The LCRB began permitting food-primary, liquor-primary and manufacturer licensees, such as wineries, breweries and distilleries, to apply for TESA authorization through an expedited, no fee, online process.
All TESA authorizations were originally set to expire on Oct. 31.
However, the province has made amendments allowing for their extension to Oct. 31, 2021.
“The utilization of this provision in the City of Trail has been limited, but this is seen to be positive as far as providing an opportunity for small businesses where red tape is greatly reduced,” said Chief Administrative Officer David Perehudoff.