Councillors in Richmond County will consider a proposal from a volunteer fire department to fund the installation of a dry hydrant.
At last night’s regular monthly meeting in Arichat, Richmond Municipal Council discussed a recommendation from the municipal Fire Services Committee which met on March 27.
District 2 Councillor Michael Diggdon said the St. Peter’s Volunteer Fire Department is looking for $5,000 in municipal funding for the installation of a dry hydrant.
District 3 Councillor Melanie Sampson wanted to clarify that the department was declined for funding because they didn’t follow the municipality’s grant policy and now they want council to make an exception.
Diggdon replied that the department wanted to to move quickly so they built a road and installed a dry hydrant. Rather than make a request to the Director of Public Works to find an engineer, the department hired an engineer on their own to design the dry hydrant.
Noting that the cost of the project was around $30,000, the department feels that they although they violated policy, they followed procedure by using an engineer.
CAO Troy MacCulloch said the staff report to be reviewed at the next committee-of-the-whole meeting will spell out “the steps that were missed in this process” and staff will provide all the information council needs to make an informed decision.
While council doesn’t want to get away from the spirit of the policy, Richmond Warden Amanda Mombourquette added that council is open to changing the policy, if necessary.