Administrative Department

The Administration department is responsible for the day to day management of the Municipal Corporation in accordance with the Municipalities Act of Prince Edward Island. The department provides support services to and on behalf of the Kensington Town Council and provides general leadership to support the Town’s operations.

The department is currently made up of three full time employees; the Town Manager who is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Town, the Deputy Administrator whose primary function is related to financial services, and an Administrative Assistant who provides office administration duties for the Town.

Contact:

Geoff Baker, Chief Administrative Officer | cao@kensington.ca

Wendy MacKinnon, Deputy Administrative Officer | mail@kensington.ca

Emergency after hours contact: 902-439-8849

 

Water and Pollution Control

The Town of Kensington currently operates the Town of Kensington Water and Pollution Control Corporation which is the entity responsible for providing clean water and effective wastewater treatment for the residents of the Town of Kensington. The Water and Pollution Control Corporation is run by a policy making Board of Directors who in turn pass responsibility for day to day management on to Town of Kensington Staff. The manager of the Water and Pollution Control Corporation is the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer. The Town’s operational (public works) staff undertake the day to day operation of the water and sewer utilities. The Corporation meets independently from Town Council and makes decisions on the construction, altering, extending and managing water and sewerage to the residents of the municipality and, with the approval of Council, to residents of areas adjacent to the municipality.

The Town’s sewage collection consists of approximately 10 km of subsurface piping as well as one lift station requiring daily monitoring and maintenance. The treatment system consists of a controls/treatment building which houses mechanical and treatment equipment and two lagoons providing secondary sewage treatment. The lagoons saw significant upgrades in 2002 increasing both the level of treatment as well as the capacity within the lagoons.

The Town’s water chlorination and distribution system consists of four underground wells, a controls/chlorination building and approximately 9 km of subsurface piping. The Town has recently implemented a wellfield protection program, including a 300 foot development buffer zone, to ensure that present and future generations of the community continue to receive water suitable for domestic purposes.

Read more:
PEI Water and Sewer Regulations

Water and Sewer Act

Emergency after hours contact: 902-439-5202

 

Police Department

The mission statement of the Kensington Police Department is to foster a peaceful environment in the Town of Kensington through communication, visibility, prevention and effective enforcement of laws.

The department consists of a Police Chief, Deputy Chief, two full time constables, and three part time constables. The department also employs one full time and three part time communication technicians.

E-Watch – Public Safety Through Partnership

By bringing video to more places, these solutions extend the reach of existing personnel, allowing them to better monitor our urban center, out of the way locations, high traffic intersections and special events.

E-WATCH Mobile – Automated License Plate Recognition

ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition) is a technology that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to automatically read license plate characters. Our fixed ALPR camera’s take a snapshot of the license plates and transmits plate identification to our database via secure VPN for comparison against our “hotlists” of plates.

This triggered alert will provide the officer with the following information:

• Alert Type (i.e. stolen Plate, wanted person, expired registration, etc..)
• A image of the captured plate matched to hotlist
• A image of the vehicle associated to the matched plate;
• Date and time of capture;
• GPS Coordinates associated to location of Capture;
• Name of Registered Owner of matched plate;
• Color of Vehicle associated to matched plate; and
• Make of Vehicle associated to matched plate.

ALPR is a proven technology that can be used to detect and prevent a wide range of illegal activity; however, it was ALPR’s benefits to improving road safety by detecting and deterring high-risk drivers that is of primary interest to KPS.

High-risk drivers are repeat offenders with patterned illegal driving behaviours (e.g.: recurring incidences of alcohol/drug impaired driving, traffic violations, collision involvement or suspended/prohibited drivers).

The KPS’s core strategic objectives include improving road safety. Although over the last decade road safety has improved significantly in our town and province, it remains a serious concern. Transport Canada reports Prince Edward Island still has one of the highest ratio of collision fatalities in the Country for both population and licensed drivers per 100,000.

To achieve our strategic goal of improving road safety we must raise public awareness and leverage technology to enhance the compliance and enforcement of our highway traffic act in alignment with the Prince Edward Island Road Safety Strategy – Toward Zero Tolerance 2015, which endorses ALPR technology as proven initiative to improve road safety.

LPR’s advantages of detection and intervention of high-risk drivers is the key focus of our initiative but it is important to mention our other uses of this technology.  The following is a complete list of Categories associated of our “hotlists” of license plates and their respective data contributor; all of which are authorized uses for law enforcement under Section 31(b) of the FOIPP Act.

• Plates with expired license plates
• Terminated plates
• Plates reported missing, lost or stolen
• Plates no longer associated to any vehicle
• Un-issued plates and un-issued stolen plates
• Unattached plates
• Plates registered to suspended drivers
• Plates registered to unlicensed drivers
• Plates associated to Stolen vehicles
• Plates associated to unpaid tickets for which a Summons has been issued
• Plate is attached to an AMBER alert, Missing Persons, or BOLO
• Plates related to active warrants, national security and electronic surveillance of plates associated to persons identified as being involved in criminality

It is our belief that ALPR technology bolsters the evidence based decision making process of our officers as it only will alert them when a vehicle on a hot list is matched; thereby, erasing any bias the public may think an officer has toward them, (i.e. race, age, gender, etc).

Why?

Increased safety – The presence of video surveillance cameras can have a positive effect on increasing public safety. Early detection can lead to crime prevention.

Crime deterrent – The mere presence of video surveillance cameras can act as a powerful crime deterrent. Individuals are less likely to commit a crime if they suspect that they are being monitored.

Provides evidence for investigations – Evidence that has been obtained from video gathered from video surveillance cameras has proven invaluable in many police investigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How will these cameras be used?

A: Once an E-Watch camera is installed and activated, KPS plans to use what is called “passive monitoring” of the cameras. In other words, KPS members generally will not be watching the camera images in real time unless there is a directed police use to do so. For example if the Police receive a call about someone stealing from cars in the area of an E-Watch camera then that camera will be used to watch and gather evidence about the suspect until the Police arrive on the scene.

Q: Are the cameras recording?

A: Yes, recordings are kept for 14 Days. This allows police to investigate and solve crimes if criminal activity is reported within that time period in the areas where the cameras are situated. Recordings will not be reviewed or kept longer if no criminal activity has been reported.

Q: Will the cameras be used to see into homes or other buildings?

A: No. E-Watch cameras observe public spaces only, where the courts have held there is no reasonable expectation of privacy

Q: How will the KPS use these videos? Will other people have access to these video recordings?

A: Policies and procedures on the use and disclosure of video recording are in accordance with the guidelines established by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Audits shall be conducted periodically to ensure compliance with these established practices.

For more information about the E-Watch
Contact Deputy Chief Landon Yuill
902-836-4499 or lyuill@kensington.ca

 

Kensington Police Service offers a Home Security Program for residence of the Town of Kensington. If you are going away and would like the police service to check on your property, please feel free to contact us.

We will periodically stop by your property to ensure doors and windows are secure. If interested please call 902-836-4499 for more information

 

Useful Links:

MADD – East Prince Chapter | www.madd.ca 
Crimestoppers | www.peicrimestoppers.com
Missing Children Society of Canada | www.mcsc.ca

Contact: Lewis Sutherland, Police Chief | policechief@kensington.ca

Non-Emergency contact: 902-836-4499
Emergency contact: 9-1-1.

 

Public Works Department

The Public Works department provides a wide range of services to the community. They are responsible for the daily upkeep, maintenance and cleanliness of the Town. Some of the daily responsibilities include:

• Grass mowing on all Town owned property.
• Snow clearing and removal from all sidewalks, boardwalk and other Town owned properties.
• Maintenance of the EVK Memorial Pool. (in-season)
• Maintenance of Town owned buildings.
• The department is also responsible for operational duties related to the Kensington Water and Pollution Control Corporation. This includes all maintenance of the water chlorination and distribution system and the wastewater collection and treatment system.

The Public Works department is made up of two full time employees; a supervisor and an assistant. The Town’s Public Works supervisor is currently certified as a Level I Wastewater Collection and Treatment Operator as well as a Level I Water Distribution System Operator and the assistant continues to work towards formal certifications.

A seasonal employee is normally brought on during the summer, through government employment programs, to assist with grass mowing and general upkeep.

Contact: Doug Killam, Public Works Supervisor | publicworks@kensington.ca

Emergency after hours contact: 902-439-5202

 

Fire Department

Select the link to download and print a copy of the Volunteer Fire Fighter Application.

Fire protection for the Town of Kensington and surrounding areas is provided by the Kensington Fire Department located 16 Gerald McCarville Drive. The department consists of 31 volunteer fire fighters including a Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief.

For Emergencies call 9-1-1.