After a full year of being unable to enforce bylaws, the Village of Longview has some reprieve.
The Village has hired a part-time peace officer to take on the duties of enforcing bylaws and speed limits in the community this month after being without the position when the Village and MD of Foothills eliminated a shared peace officer position.
“There would be peace officers working in the Longview area, but it didn’t seem to deal with the traffic issues in the way the village hoped it would,” said Vicky McGonigle, the Village’s chief administrative officer. “We have a huge speeding problem throughout the village along Highway 22 and that takes a pretty concentrated effort to deter that. We struggled with splitting the time between the two coverage areas so we concluded the arrangement amicably with the MD.”
Without a peace officer on staff, the Village office would issue letters when it received complaints about residents not following bylaws, but the matter was not dealt with further, said McGonigle.
“Once the letter went out the issue was closed, which is an inefficient way of doing it,” she said. “When you don’t have a presence at the door people are less inclined to follow through. There is a perception that develops that the bylaws are not really laws.”
According to McGonigle, there were one or two complaints a month, if that, during the period the village was without a peace officer and they were often related to dogs and building permits.
With Longview being situated on a busy highway, enforcing the speed limit of 50 km/hr, down to 30 km through the school zone, was also a challenge.
McGonigle said some motorists drive as fast as 100 km per hour through the heart of the village.
While the Village had some help from RCMP in surrounding communities, McGonigle said they were already stretched thin.
“There were quite a few close calls with (pedestrians) going onto the highway and someone speeding through,” she said. “Our pedestrians have learned to be fairly cautious, but we worry about school children crossing the highway.”
Longview School Principal Chet Musgrove said staff constantly monitor students who need to cross the highway before and after school.
“We have to be very vigilant when we cross because sometimes cars go blowing through,” he said. “There are times that vehicles are going and don’t see us at all. We’re watching cars fly through sometimes at 80 to 100 km/h.”
Staff frequently educate students about the importance of looking both ways, making eye contact with drivers and ensuring vehicles have stopped before crossing, Musgrove said.
“We talk to the kids about when to cross and when not to cross,” he said. “We are another set of eyes to help out and train the kids to protect their safety.”
Developing the peace officer program for Longview came with help from the Turner Valley RCMP, said McGonigle.
Once the program was established, the Village began its search for a trained officer and hired Justin Nagys of High River.
Nagys has worked in enforcement with the City of Calgary for almost two years and is the fire captain at the Tsuu T’ina Nation west of the city.
“My background has always revolved around public safety and customer service,” Nagys said last week. “Law enforcement has always been a keen interest of mine. It’s what I was called to do.”
Nagys recalls as a child watching police cars, fire trucks and ambulances with interest, and idolizing his father, who worked for the paramedic service in Ottawa where he grew up.
“My passion is dealing with people,” he said. “I really look forward to meeting everybody here and making a positive impact on the community.
“My plan is to work and listen and be attentive to the concerns of the residents in the village.”
Nagys has already connected with Longview’s younger citizens, visiting Longview School two weeks ago to introduce himself.
“I’m hoping to make it a safer community as a whole with a keen interest in the traffic portion and the school zone and be a role model in the village,” he said.
Nagys has driven through Longview a few times and looks forward to learning more about the village.
“I like the village - the uniqueness,” he said. “There is a big oil derrick in front of my office and it’s just close proximity to High River and the people I work with here are great.”
McGonigle said Nagys is a good fit, and that living in High River is an added bonus.
“When communities are really small it’s sometimes a benefit to not live in the community,” she said. “They don’t get drawn into community issues in the same way. We want someone to be independent and fair to how they approach their work.”
Nagys will be involved with bylaw enforcement, addressing such concerns as oversized vehicles on roads, clear laneways and the safety of residents, said McGonigle.
“It’s one thing to have bylaws, but if you don’t enforce them with some consistency and uniformity they are not helpful,” she said.
“We’re really glad to welcome him to the village. Our residents are quite happy about having a peace officer because they’re concerned about the traffic issues. That’s going to be a benefit for the community.”
