Fate Of NF Township Office Still Undetermined

Jeff Green | Feb 12, 2014

Portable office coming as township works to maintain service

The oil furnace leak that led to the evacuation of the North Frontenac Township office last week is still being investigated. In the meantime temporary offices have been set up in the adjacent fire hall.

A portable building is arriving this week to act as a temporary headquarters. The 12ft. by 60ft. building, along with 12 desks and chairs, could be up and running by the end of the week.

“Many of our staff have been coming in and working out of the fire hall, but some are still working at home,” said Township Chief Administrator Cheryl Robson. “We are working hard at keeping our services available to the public.”

The temporary offices are open to the public, although service may be limited.

As far as the building is concerned, the township’s insurance company is spearheading an evaluation of its status. Environmental Engineers Concorde Engineering are taking the lead in the investigation, and preliminary reports are that the spill is contained within the building at this time. A basic clean up is underway, and that is being done by Service Master.

Because the level of contamination within the building is unknown, staff have not been able to retrieve anything from the building, with the exception of the computer server, which is now set up in the fire hall and is functioning. The phone system is also up and running.

An environmental hygienist will be on site this week as well, and after that staff may be able to access materials from filing cabinets, desk tops etc. Plastic sheeting has been put up between the office area and the township garage, which is located at the rear of the building, and the garage is functioning as normal.

“We really don’t have any idea what the cleanup to the building will entail, and how long it will be until we can use it again,” said CAO Robson, “but we hope to know more by the end of the week. It is really in the hands of our insurance company; they will tell us what options we have.”

While the office is out of commission, township meetings, including council and committee meetings, will be taking place at the Clarendon/Miller Hall on Buckshot Lake Road.