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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, A pr il 25 ,2 01 9 | 16 IT'S ON... www.waterlooreaderschoice.ca Register online and nominate your favourites! TILL MAY 26, 2019 NOMINATIONSNOWOPEN! ...NO S'TI ...NO S'TI The cost of planning and managing the unsanc- tioned 2019 St. Patrick's Day event cost the City of Waterloo, Waterloo Region- al Police (WRPS), Waterloo Fire Rescue, Region of Wa- terloo Paramedic Services, Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo a combined $767,211, ac- cording to a media release issued Wednesday. The breakdown is as fol- lows: • WRPS: $286,400 • City of Waterloo: $90,500 • Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services: $85,000 • Wilfrid Laurier Uni- versity: $295,311 • University of Waterloo: $10,000 "These costs aren't sus- tainable and I remain very concerned about the im- pact the unsanctioned St. Patrick's Day gathering has on our community, res- idents and first respond- ers," said Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky. "This is money that could be better used to meet other commu- nity needs. The increase in the crowd size this year continues a disturbing trend. We also saw an in- crease in the number of people taking unnecessary risks and potentially com- promising the safety of oth- ers." Police chief Bryan Lar- kin said he remains ex- tremely concerned for the safety of those attending unsanctioned public gath- erings. "We remain equally con- cerned for the first re- sponders who have to at- tend this event and for the impact it has on the com- munity," Larkin said. "The costs associated with this event are simply unsus- tainable and, as we move forward, we will continue to work with our communi- ty partners and members of the joint taskforce to find alternatives to this unlaw- ful gathering." The City of Waterloo and the WRPS, under the auspices of the Town & Gown Committee, teamed up with local community agencies and partners to address the growing prob- lem of unsanctioned public gatherings and events in the city through the forma- tion of the Unsanctioned Public Gatherings Task Force. The task recommenda- tions will be focused on achieving three outcomes: reduce (one-to-two years), refocus (two-to-five years) and prevent (five years plus). The task force is co- led by the city and Waterloo Regional Police Service. The task force is currently undertaking research to better understand the rea- sons behind the growth of these types of events, in- cluding consulting with event attendees and stu- dents. "We continue to be con- cerned about the growing risk to public safety that these types of gatherings create not to mention the safety of our first re- sponders," said Stephen VanValkenburg, chief of Waterloo Paramedic Ser- vices. In the media release, Van Valkenburg stated Paramedic Services was prepared for an increase in call volumes throughout the weekend and worked closely with system part- ners to meet the daily needs of our community while managing the in- crease in volume in the Ez- ra Ave area. "Our service is commit- ted to providing excellence in patience care in any cir- cumstance and we will con- tinue to work with our partners to find ways to mitigate the risks associat- ed with this type of unsanc- tioned street gathering go- ing forward," he said. David McMurray, Lau- rier's vice-president of stu- dent affairs, said the uni- versity is united with mu- nicipal and emergency ser- vices partners in actively discouraging unsanc- tioned street gatherings. "The overall partner costs for maintaining safe- ty and security, while nec- essary for the current situ- ation, are unsustainable," McMurray said. WATERLOO'S ST. PATRICK'S DAY COST $767K NEWS PARTNERS RELEASE COSTS OF MANAGING AND RESPONDING TO ANNUAL GATHERING Emergency workers treat a young man on Albert Street during the Ezra Street St. Patrick's Day party in Waterloo, Saturday. Mathew McCarthy/Metroland