BAY ROBERTS, N.L.
There’s been a lot of change with his job over the last 14 years, but Perry Bowering maintains there has always been an essential element to his duties as a municipal enforcement officer (MEO) for the Town of Bay Roberts.
“We’re here to help. We’re not here to rule with an iron fist, to tell you that you’re doing this because that’s something me and (town CAO) Nigel Black sits down and comes up with,” he said. “Everything we do is for your benefit and your neighbour’s benefit.”
Bowering was the first MEO in the town’s history, preceded by an employee who dealt strictly with animal control. These days, he could find himself dealing with property developers, homeowners and, to a lesser extent, motorists on any number of issues.
“We’re just here to make the town better. I’m not here to get a bad name.”
A new initiative for Bowering revolves around excessively untidy properties. After tackling these situations in a number of ways without getting the desired results, the town is now taking an approach that could lead to court action.
“Council is taking a new approach now,” the MEO said. “I know it’s going to work. We send you a letter, give you time to comply.
“If you don’t, instead of going after you and after you, we’re getting a lawyer and if you don’t comply with the lawyer, you’ll end up in court.”
Bowering said the town is commencing legal action on three properties at the moment. Bay Roberts is not alone in taking this approach, he added.
“Any of the cities that’s represented in our association (Association of Municipal Police and Enforcement Officers of Newfoundland and Labrador), they don’t fool around … Do what we’re asking ya, and everyone will be happy,” said Bowering, who serves as the president of the provincial association.
Property checks
One big change Bowering has experienced on the job is how he interacts with property developers. For the last couple of years, he’s taken on a more active role to inspect and ensure construction work does not deviate from the initial development application the town approved.
“Sometimes what they’re telling ya is not what they’re doing,” Bowering explained. “People have got to realize, we’re doing this for their benefit.”
“You might find a house that’s supposed to be eight metres from the road,” town CAO Nigel Black added, offering a hypothetical example of how this service can ultimately help property owners. “You might go there after the fact or when they tried to sell the property and they’d get a real property report that said it’s six metres from the property boundary, and of course then you’ve got an issue. It holds up your sale and all that sort of stuff, so we’re trying to avoid those situations.”
ATVs
In making his rounds, Bowering has continued to notice a problem with ATV riders travelling at excessive speeds within the town. He said even with the effort local RCMP has put into speaking to high school students directly about the dangers, Bowering has not noticed an improvement.
“I’d like to see a blitz like we used to do years ago where we rent a couple of plain vehicles, sit and watch. You’re on the ATV going mad doing whatever you’re doing. We’re not allowed to follow anyone. Before, we were allowed to follow an ATV,” he said. “When you stop after we’re sitting in the plain vehicles and have our uniforms on, then we get out and approach you and take the machine and give a ticket.
“You’ve still got some people who are behaving, but you have some who are not. My biggest beef with the ATVs on the road are the kids who don’t have their licence, because they don’t know the rules of the road.”
Bowering also deals with parking, but does not consider it to be a major issue in the community.
One task he would love to get some extra help from residents on is addressing street lights that are either out or flickering. Since the town is charged for them whether or not the lights work, Bowering said it’s in everyone’s best interest to ensure the municipality gets its money’s worth.
According to Black, the MEO ultimately does a lot of mediation work, finding himself drawn into arguments between neighbours and serving as a person who can help them talk it out.
“It’s trying to keep the peace and giving suggestions (and) advice to stop you from going any further so you can go on with your lives,” Bowering said.
