By Kirk Winter, The Lindsay Advocate – December 13, 2023
Kawartha Lakes council has conditionally approved a request from the Lindsay Downtown Business Improvement Association (LDBIA) in the amount of $40,000 for the installation of a closed-circuit camera system to enhance public safety in the downtown core.
The LDBIA has approximately 10 weeks to have a private consultant produce a Privacy Impact Assessment and hold a public meeting that will solicit opinions from a wide range of stakeholder groups regarding the impacts, both positive and negative, that the cameras might have. If the LDBIA can meet these deadlines and have a report to council by late Feb. 2024, it is expected that the money, currently being held in abeyance will be released to the LDBIA for the purchase and installation of more than 50 CCTVs across the heritage downtown core.
President of the LDBIA, Wesley Found, has been a prime mover behind this project from the beginning. Found, owner of the Kent Place Business and Professional Centre, is a fourth-generation downtown business person whose property is already equipped with CCTV. Those cameras have helped police solve cases and protect his business against frivolous liability claims.