Sarnia's police chief says 24-hour surveillance of the abandoned Sarnia General Hospital property is cost prohibitive.
Phil Nelson says having an officer monitor the Mitton St site around the clock would come with a price tag of $23,438.02 a week, or over $1.2-million a year.
He says installing security cameras is also problematic.
Sarnia Police Chief Phil Nelson (BlackburnNews.com photo by Stephanie Chaves)
"They can put cameras up but who is going to monitor them? I don't have the ability to monitor the video from the police station, we can monitor our own cameras in our parking lot but we don't have the technology monitor other properties. I also don't have the personal to be able to do that," he says.
Nelson says they've seen a significant spike in calls to the site, 45 last year compared to 12 in 2014.
He says officer safety is also a concern. In 2015 the interior of the old hospital was deemed unsafe for personnel to enter without hazmat suits.
"There's black mold in the basement, it's definitely a health and safety issue for anyone going into that building," says Nelson. "If we see someone go in the building, we'll sit and wait for them to come out, we aren't going to go in there and pursue people."
Bluewater Health advised city council in October 2015 that it would no longer pay for ongoing maintenance and security costs. The city took possession of the site in 2016.
