By Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative

The town of Dunham intends to go ahead with the construction of a new fire station despite concerns from some citizens about the need for and the cost of the facility, Mayor Pierre Janecek said last week.

In December, the project faced a roadblock after more than 300 people signed a register calling for a referendum on a planned $7.9-million loan to finance the project. Rather than move forward with the referendum, councillors went back to the drawing board and devised a new funding formula.

At the March 11 council meeting, councillors approved $6.4 million in spending and a $2.1-million loan to fund the project, to be paid by taxpayers proportionally to their property values. Janecek said the loan, to be repaid over a period of 25 years, would add an estimated $63 per year to the average homeowner’s tax bill, although those with higher property values would pay slightly more. He noted that a provincial subsidy would pay 73 per cent of the cost of the new fire station.

“We made a budget based on what we thought the project would cost, but the bids were lower than we thought, so we had to do a new one, $1.5 million less than the one before,” the mayor said. “We also [became eligible for] a slightly larger grant because we’re going to use wood [in the construction of the firehouse]. Because we have more than half of the project subsidized, we’re not legally obligated to do a register.” The funds were expected to cover construction, furniture, specialized equipment, landscaping, water treatment and professional fees for the new fire station and a contingency amount to cover unexpected cost overrruns, equivalent to 10 per cent of the project’s total budget, town clerk Jessica Tanguay explained at the meeting, which can be seen on Facebook Live.

Tanguay announced that Construction Richelieu, a contractor based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, had submitted the winning bid, with a cost estimate of $5,547,000. One lower bid, from Athena Construction, was disqualified due to an incomplete application, she said.

The loan bylaw and the bylaw authorizing the construction of the firehouse passed easily at the council meeting, with councillors silently assenting to Janecek’s perfunctory, “Is everybody OK with that?” after Tanguay’s explanations. However, some residents who learned they would not be able to oppose the project through a register or a referendum expressed their concerns during the public question period, about the integrity of the bidding process, the necessity of the project and the qualifications of fire chief Patrick Cournoyer.

“No one has done a needs analysis of our fire safety needs,” argued one resident, Diane Cormier. “You haven’t done that – you said, right away, ‘We need a fire station.’ We need to analyze everything.”

“That’s what was done,” answered Coun. Florencia Saravia.

Another attendee, who didn’t give his name, spoke up to call for Cournoyer to be fired. “I’m not going to impugn anyone’s reputation here, and we’re not going to do that – not to citizens, not to town employees and not to elected officials; it’s totally disrespectful, and we have enormous confidence in our fire chief who has worked on this project for years…and has a whole team around him,” countered Saravia, who had been answering Cormier’s question.

A few other attendees began speaking over Saravia and Cormier, leading Janecek to adjourn the meeting. He briefly reconvened it, giving councillors a few minutes to express their support for Cormier, before wrapping up proceedings. He later said the chaotic council meeting, a first since the current council took office, had been “hard to manage.”

He argued that the new fire station was necessary because the current one, a converted garage, didn’t meet modern standards. “There will be more space for trucks, a decontamination room as required by the CNESST [Quebec workplace safety board], a small kitchen and a break room … it will be more spacious and we’ll be up to code.”

“There are people who are against the fire station and who are worried about the impact on their tax bill. That’s legitimate. We live in a democracy. People will be against it, but I think they’ll understand eventually,” he added.  “When you explain the project well, people get it.”

Construction of the fire station is expected to begin later this spring and wrap up in 2026.