Fermoy Hall asbestos removal approved - South Frontenac Council

Craig Bakay | Oct 04, 2017

It looks like there will be some action on Fermoy Hall this year after all. On the advice of Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth, Council decided at its regular meeting Tuesday night in Sydenham to begin work with asbestos removal and whatever else they can get done with the $30,000 earmarked for building upgrades in the 2017 capital budget. It was a complete 180 for Segsworth, but those Bedford folks can be quite persuasive when it comes to their history. On July 11, a report was presented to Council outlining the costs associated with asbestos removal and other environmental cleanup costs. At that time, the recommendation was that no further action be taken.

“In hindsight, we probably should have recommended the money then that we’re recommending now,” Segsworth said. “but we met with the Bedford Rec Committee and there is a lot of passion regarding that hall. “And whatever we do, the asbestos needs to be cleaned up.” “It was built as a municipal hall in 1855,” said Coun. Pat Barr, who represents Bedford. “There was a well drilled in 1971. “But even if you demolished it, you’d have to dispose of the contaminated material and we’ve applied for a Trillium grant and there are people prepared to do fundraising.” Segsworth said the hall is unusable right now, and not just for the asbestos. “It will take another $50,000 at least for structural integrity of the foundation, walls and the chimney,” Segsworth said. “Also, there’s no water and outdoor facilities. “But it’s a diamond in the rough, the windows have all been replaced and there was new siding put on about nine years ago.”

Mayor Ron Vandewal suggested waiting until a decision on the Trillium grant came through in a couple of weeks but Barr was having none of that. “If we get the grant or not, there’s too much chance that the cleanup won’t get done if we don’t do it now,” she said. Sydenham water metres Council approved new metres for Sydenham water on the recommendation of Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth at a cost of $470 per metre for replacements and new installations. Segsworth said the current metres are old technology and just don’t work right in many instances. He said there would be $50,000 in the 2018 for metres so that half of the metres can be brought up to current standards. Coun. Ross Sutherland proposed a motion that stated the costs would not be passed on to residents which carried. However, Sutherland and fellow Loughborough Coun. Mark Schjerning voted against the original motion to replace metres in the first place.

Public Works to cover Point field over runs Spurred by a rare coalition between Mayor Ron Vandewal and Dep. Mayor Norm Roberts, Council voted to pay for a cost overrun on the football field and track in Sydenham out of the Public Works Budget, rather than the Parks Reserve Fund as suggested by the Public Works Manager. St. Paul United to become three dwellings Council approved a zoning change that will allow three housing units in the old St. Paul United Church in Harrowsmith. An old unused road allowance was stopped up to provide the necessary acreage to allow septic for the residences (one in the rectory and two in the church). Originally the plan had been to use the buildings for a Montessori training centre.