The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor A new lab report that refutes mould concerns at the Flin Flon RCMP Detachment could have Mounties back in the building in the new year. City council on Tuesday received the reassuring results of an air quality analysis of the facility, which the RCMP vacated more than two months ago. 'They were concerned about mould and the lab report received today basically said there was no mould,' said Coun. Bill Hanson. Beyond air quality testing, the city has undertaken repairs at the Hapnot Street building to address concerns stemming from water intrusion. Mayor George Fontaine said the city has also pledged to repair the building's leaky roof as soon as the weather permits next year. 'So if there's any minor leakage between now and then that we can't foresee, we'll deal with that, but the roof is going to be fixed,' he said. Received report RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Miles Hiebert said the Mounties received the air quality report Tuesday evening and would examine its findings. He said the report will be reviewed by the RCMP Occupational Health and Safety Officer, with subsequent consultation to take place with RCMP Asset Management. Once the facility 'is deemed safe for RCMP employees, we will re-occupy the building,' said Cpl. Hiebert, adding that he does not expect this to happen until the new year. Flin Flon Mounties have been working out of the Creighton RCMP detachment since Oct. 19. On that day, Cpl. Hiebert said, three employees reported health issues they attributed to the air quality in the building. 'Given this and the continual water intrusion, a decision was made to temporarily vacate the building,' he said. Cpl. Hiebert said an air quality report completed at the end of last month indicated the presence of mould. See 'Health... on pg. 12 a result, in consultation with the RCMP Occupational Health and Safety Officer, it was recommended that occupancy in the Flin Flon detachment building with the current air quality may pose a health and safety risk for RCMP clients and employees,' he said. 'Since this November air quality report, the City of Flin Flon has completed various repairs caused by the water intrusion in order to make the workplace a safer environment.' City council now has confidence that the air quality concerns have been rectified. Mark Kolt, municipal administrator for the city, said most buildings have 'some degree of mould.' 'It's a question of how much constitutes a problem,' he said. 'Sometimes people disagree on how much is a problem, and in this particular case we've hired a very reputable consultant in Winnipeg who's told us that based on the levels that they analyzed from their testing, that they don't think it's a problem.' 'Expensive' It's not clear how much the city will spend to repair the detachment's roof next year, though Coun. Hanson did say 'it'll be expensive, we can guarantee you that.' Referring to an earlier grant proposal, Kolt said the price tag will be no less than $70,000 to $80,000. Cpl. Hiebert said there have been only 'minimal costs' from temporarily relocating the Flin Flon officers in Creighton. Flin Flon continues to receive full RCMP service. Residents who require emergency assistance still dial 911. The city owns the Flin Flon detachment and provides space to the Mounties as part of its contribution to community policing. The detachment is part of the same building as the Flin Flon Fire Hall. The firefighters have not been displaced.
