It’s been a tough week for a Kelowna, B.C., retailer after three separate vandalism incidents.
“In one week, I’ve had the power meter pulled off twice and a fire,” said Don Blevens, the owner of Baby And Me.
Last Friday, a fire was deliberately set at the back of the building.
Fire crews managed to put it out but not before smoke seeped into the building, causing a lot of smoke damage in his storage full of merchandise.
“I don’t even know what’s going to cost me, but the insurance company is going to probably be 350 to $500,000,” Blevens told Global News.
In addition to the fire, vandals also ripped off the power meter off his wall not once this week, but twice.
“We had no power in the building,” Blevens said. “And we had to get Fortis out to replace that power meter so I could actually run a business.”
Blevens believes the vandalism spree is retribution for recently installed speakers playing unpleasant and jarring sounds, in an effort to deter loitering and the mess it brings with it, including needles, garbage and humane waste.
“We have a shovel here just for feces,” Bleves said.
Petition in Kelowna requesting ‘wet’ support facility change to a ‘dry’ building
But Blevens said an even bigger concern than the mess is safety for his staff and customers.
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“I don’t want my staff to go through that. That’s the stress…when my staff are sitting here in danger and they’re feeling unsafe,” he said.
“And my customers, we hear from customers all the time, we’re not coming back….We take care of customers at their most vulnerable state, they’re pregnant, they have newborns, they have babies, they have kids running around.”
Baby And Me has been in its current location near the Orchard Plaza Shopping Centre for almost a decade.
While Blevens said he’s always seen the odd transient person here and there, the problems escalated drastically about three years ago, shortly after the arrival of a new neighbour down the street.
That neighbour is Stephen Village, a supportive housing complex that many area residents blame for increased violence, drug use and nighttime disruptions.
“We are very aware that there are concerns,” said Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas.
Dyas is assuring the neighbourhood that a lot is happening behind the scenes to improve the situation.
He pointed to things like recently installed security cameras near the facility as well as increased patrols by both city bylaw and RCMP that the city has already put in place.
But he said that ultimately, municipal governments only have so much power in these types of situations.
“Repeat offenders cannot continue to you know cause crime on our streets and our bail needs to be reformed,” Dyas said. “Those are advocacy items that we want to see changes in, but as municipal government, it is not something that we can implement.”
Blevens, like so many in the area, is desperate for more to be done.
“Stop talking and start taking action,” Blevens said. “Make the hard decisions.”
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