BARRHEAD - Thieves who stole the batteries of several solar-powered lights at Cecile Martin Park and other locations will potentially cost the Town of Barrhead upwards of $35,000.
Due to the thefts and the damage that the thieves caused, Town of Barrhead councillors felt they had no choice but to bump up the 2023 recreation capital budget for the solar light project from $35,000 to $70,200 during their April 25 meeting. The extra funding will come out of the municipality's general reserves.
The $35,000 budget, which has already been spent, will be used to purchase and install solar pathway lights at Rosemary Empey Park and what used to be the boardwalk area of the Blue Heron walking trail.
Parks and recreation director Shallon Touet noted that there are 11 solar lights in Cecile Martin Park, with eight needing substantial repairs or to be replaced.
The agenda package also notes there are seven additional solar light units at Lions Park, the Barrhead Sportsgrounds and the off-leash dog park that need repair or, more likely, replacement.
The cost to replace and install a solar light unit is roughly $3,200.
Later in the meeting, Touet would note the damage to the solar units, especially those in Cecile Martin Park, was caused by thieves stealing their batteries.
Coun. Anthony Oswald asked if the municipality's insurance could cover the damage.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc said he was not sure, adding that he believed the deductible per site was $5,000.
He said he was also unclear whether a site would refer to an individual item, such as each solar light unit or a general location, in this case, a specific park.
LeBlanc then asked Touet if ordering the replacement solar units was time sensitive or whether it could wait two weeks until the next council meeting so he could learn what the town's insurance policy may cover.
"It can always wait," Touet replied. "But the question is, how long will it take after we order to get them?"
He added that after council approved the 2023 capital budget in early January, recreation staff ordered the solar lights for Rosemary Empey Park and the boardwalk the same week.
"They arrived yesterday," Touet said.
Coun. Klumph asked if the parks and recreation investigated the possibility of "hardwiring" the light posts, eliminating the cause of the vandalism.
Touet said they had for the units at Cecile Martin Park, but they have not received pricing information yet and noted that "it would be costly".
"Because of the infrastructure going across the park, i.e. the storm line, it would have to be a big trench," he said.
Touet said he has high hopes that the new units would not suffer the same issues, noting the batteries were about 20 feet in the air and would require substantial effort and time to steal.
Klumph then asked what anti-theft features the new units had and/or what other steps staff could.
Touet admitted he did not know, noting he hasn't unpacked the new units they'd received.
However, he said staff had tried to come up with a way to make the old units more theft-proof, and the only method they came up with was to weld the battery box shut and then use a grinder when the battery needed servicing.
