The late Jim Young (City of Belleville photo)
The County will remember beloved firefighter Jim Young with a donation to the Hastings and Prince Edward Mutual Fire Aid Training Complex.
A surplus 2000 model year GMC pumper truck will go to the training facility where Mr. Young provided instruction to many Quinte area volunteer and professional firefighters.
Typically, the County disperses surplus equipment on a North American fire equipment website. They have also donated end-of-life trucks and equipment to Northern and remote communities.
In his report supporting the motion, Interim Fire Chief Tim Kraemer said the donation will strengthen training opportunities, support compliance with provincial certification requirements, reduce long-term municipal training costs, and contribute to the safety of residents.
The training complex relies on a fleet of donated fire apparatus to deliver hands-on training. One of its existing pumpers has serious mechanical issues requiring significant investment to remain operational.
“Without reliable apparatus, the training centre’s ability to provide effective training—and the municipality’s ability to certify firefighters—would be negatively affected,” the Chief said.
Mr. Kraemer said it would be fitting if the vehicle ended up at the training complex.
“A lot of people in the community would see this truck in service or out at parades and typically it would be Jim Young behind the wheel. I know a lot of our guys have those memories so sending it on to the training facility in Quinte West seems very appropriate,” he said.
The County is extending an agreement with Quinte West that allows it to piggy back its Fire & Rescue and corporate communications on the Mount Pelion Communications Tower.
The Mount Pelion tower provides critical infrastructure supporting Prince Edward County Fire & Rescue’s (PECFR) radio system, the Water and Wastewater Services department’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, and data transmission across the municipal corporate network.
In the 2026 budget deliberations, Council approved a $50,000 expenditure to bring its communications equipment and tower to north Prince Edward County. Constructing a new communications tower at the Rossmore Fire Station, relocating the equipment to the Consecon water tower, or building a new tower at its Roblin Lake property are options being considered.
Until that time, the communications infrastructure must remain active. The County pays Quinte West $2,500 per year for continued operation of Fire and IT communications systems.
A property transfer agreement between the County and the Crown rectifies a land title error on the books for a quarter century. The properties in question are in Wellington: the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Belleville Street Pumping Station, and multiple easements along the Lake Ontario shoreline adjacent to Wharf Street and West Street, where wastewater sewer pipes are located.
“During the 1990s, the Province of Ontario enacted legislation to transfer ownership of water and wastewater infrastructure from the province to municipalities,” Project Manger Garrett Osborne said. “Due to administrative oversight at that time, some property transfers were not completed, including these sites in Wellington.”
The transfer is an administrative correction to align ownership records with the infrastructure the municipality already owns, operates, and maintains.
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