Town has heated discussion over fire dept. amalagamation

Ken Johnston
Editorial@RainyRiverRecord.com

Rainy River town council held its meeting a day late last Tuesday, Nov. 13, in lieu of the Remembrance Day holiday.

A hot topic of discussion was the proposal to amalgamate the Rainy River Fire Department with Dawson’s. Mayor Gord Prost said that there has been mix up as to what will happen if the amalgamation goes forward. “We are not looking at amalgamating the fire departments. Dawson and Rainy River will retain separate departments but have a joint chief and have joint training,” explained Prost.

Councillor Lance Lindal asked if there was any discussion about cost sharing. Prost said that each department will retain their respective costs and that the only cost sharing will be in regards to training.

Councillor Glen Armstrong raised the point that the entire idea of amalgamating came from the fact that council wanted to discuss the issue of being paid money from Dawson for fire protection of its homeowners near Rainy River.

Prost responded that Dawson does not feel they need to pay that grant as they are updating their equipment and will be able to better respond to fires in their township. That plus the fact that both departments subscribe to the mutual aid agreement that says neighbouring communities must respond if called to aid in fighting a fire if needed.

Lindal said, “Even if they get new equipment they can’t respond (adequately) to fires in Dawson as it is too big.” Lindal said that they will still need Rainy River’s fire protection unless they station a truck in Pinewood and one in the western portion of Dawson.

Armstrong noted that the town used to get $5,000 from fire protection and that will be gone under the new agreement.

Prost said he hopes that discussions will conclude within a month and come before council for review sometime in the new year.

Recycling Blues

Council passed a motion to, “agree in principle to remain in the recycling program,” pending more information before it will sign a contract. The Northwestern Recycling Association (NORA) is reporting that it will cease operations at its Dryden base at the end of the year due to costs far outstripping the revenues.

A private recycling company, Recool, of Thunder Bay has offered to take over pick ups in the region at a per capita cost of $10 per year. Of that $9 will go to Recool and $1 will go to retiring NORA’s debt.

Whether the pick-up will include curbside service as it is now or central pick-up sites was unclear. Council wants to look at that before opting to sign a contract with Recool.

Councillor Gerry Marchuk said that he feels about 80% of the community is in favour of continuing recycling pick-up. The other option is have all refuse, including recyclables sent to the local landfill site.

Mayor Prost said that the province could bail the program out by returning to subsidizing it.

Councillor Lindal said that he would rather see the town get money for the community’s ailing sewer system than recycling.

On that note, council passed a motion asking the province to, “provide reliable confirmation of OSTAR funding levels for all municipalities related to the new Ontario Drinking Water Regulations.”

Recreation Board

Councillor Glen Armstrong apologized to council for not following proper procedure in getting a cement framed door jack-hammered out from the basement of the community center to the arena ice surface. Armstrong noted that the widening of the door makes it much safer for hockey players to enter and exit the arena. He had access to the local minor hockey executive and they were willing to pay for it to be done. He approved going ahead of it without going through the proper channels of council. However he did apologize for his actions, but felt that it was the right thing to do at the time.

Mayor Gord Prost said that it is great to have improvements but noted that without proper procedures if something had happened the town could be held liable.

Armstrong noted that it was inspected by the Chief Building Official and that it will be finished properly with hand rails and door casings.

Councillor Brent Anderson noted that the recreation board added two new members last week. Cory Lindal and Ken Johnston joined the board.

Anderson also praised Recreation Board member Deb Wagner and citizen Rose Tetu for raising over $5,300 in a door to door fund raising blitz for new tables and chairs for the Community Centre.

RRDSAB vs. ASB

Councillor Larry Armstrong reported that there is discussion in the region about moving from a District Social Services Area Board to a more encompassing Area Services Board.

He noted that by moving to an ASB that the area as a whole will have to pick up costs for Long Term Care and the Northwestern Health Unit. DSSAB presently looks after Social Housing, Child Care, Ambulance and Social Services.

Mayor Prost said, “It is scary... if we go to ASB which is all encompassing, what do you need municipalities for if they are running all the services?”

Other Business

•Council agreed to write a letter of support for Rainycrest Home for the Aged to the Ministry of Health requesting more operating dollars. Rainycrest representative to council, Larry Armstrong, noted that an arbitrator issued a decision granting wage increases to staff. Armstrong noted that in the past to meet the increases they cut staff. However the board feels they can not cut staff any further and hence need more money to operate.

•Council agreed to pay Clerk Deb Bowman’s wages for 23.5 holidays that were cancelled on her.

•Council accepted the tender from Gustafason Welding to do some work to the Community Center’s fire escape. The amount of the tender is $2,841.76.