It was a crowded house at City Hall as the Dryden Firefighters Association made a presentation to City Council and request another meeting with city officials.
The motion brought forward by Councillor Mary Trist to discuss continuing dialogue and hold more meetings was supported by Councillor Roger Valley but was voted down by Councillors Nick Beyak, Martin MacKinnon, John Carlucci and Mayor Greg Wilson during the meeting.
DFFA Negotiating Committee Chair Darren Trist says that mistakes have been made from all sides of this dispute and he was hoping they would be able to put that behind them and head back to the negotiating table at square one.
Trist says he is at a loss for words and mentions that the motion being voted down says the City won’t be talking to them anymore.
He also adds the only result he can see from this decision is the raising of taxes.
Dryden Mayor Greg Wilson says current talks weren’t productive and out of control and they have an obligation to ensure they have proper fire coverage in the area.
Wilson says they cannot discuss HR issues publicly and cannot comply with the demand of the DFFA to remove Fire Chief Ryan Murrell.
He also says since they introduced the alcohol policy, they cannot allow alcohol on city property such as the fire fighters club room.
Wilson says this isn’t about not appreciating what the fire fighters do, he says they do a fantastic job, but they simply cannot meet their demands so they will need to find new recruits.
