Dresden municipal office deemed safe

Despite the fact that the Chatham-Kent Police Service no longer uses the Dresden municipal office, workers there are in no danger from mould or asbestos in the building, according to Thomas Kelly, General Manager of Infrastructure and Engineering Services for Chatham-Kent.

CKPS left the building at the end of June after concerns were brought to the attention of administration.

After leaving, police posted a sign saying the office is permanently closed due to “health and safety reasons” however it was quickly removed.

“I wasn’t happy with the message which was being sent,” Kelly said. “I discussed the matter with police.”

Kelly said there is “no safety issue” at all with the main floor of the building where service centre staff work.

“Like many of our older buildings, the Dresden location does have asbestos but there is no threat to safety as long as it is undisturbed. There was also some mould issues that were addressed. ”

Kelly said staff safety is paramount. “We simply wouldn’t have staff in an environment which wasn’t safe,” he said.

Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn said the issue of the building’s condition was brought to his attention as part of the regular administrative function of the service.

“I am aware of the concerns and I don’t have any reason to doubt the municipality’s position,” he said. “It’s their building and we were just renting space.”

Conn said Dresden wasn’t a storefront with officers dedicated to it.
“Unlike Wallaceburg, Tilbury and Ridgetown for example, we didn’t have an officer stationed in Dresden. It was just a place for an officer to get caught up with reports but since we’re fully computerized now, we don’t need a physical location. The officer’s car is essentially his or her office so it was a matter of not spending money where we didn’t have to.”

Kelly wouldn’t speculate on the future of the Dresden location that will be losing its Service Ontario function at the end of 2015.

“It’s up to council to make decisions about service centre locations,” he said.