Charges stem from asbestos, improper handling of renovation at Meductic Community Centre
The Municipality of Lakeland Ridges has been charged with two counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
WorksafeNB notified the council of the legal action on Monday, May 4.
The municipality is being charged under subsection 47 (1); failure to adopt the code of practice, “A Code of Practice for Working with Materials Containing Asbestos in New Brunswick,” and subsection 11 (b); failure to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of anyone accessing or using that place of employment.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 25, in Fredericton.
In Nov. 2024, council passed a motion to approve the move of its municipal offices from Canterbury to Meductic.
At the time, some councillors argued the cost of renovation wasn’t necessary, as the Canterbury building was in good shape. Others argued that the decision would mean more travel for some residents, as the office would now be located at the far end of the district rather than closer to its centre. A petition from residents opposing the move was also presented to council.
The approved renovation included the erection of two floor-to-ceiling walls to create an office and divide the space.
Work began in June 2025. The following month, on July 25, 2025, the centre was closed until further notice.
“The Meductic Community Centre is CLOSED effective immediately, until further notice, pursuant to WorkSafe NB Order No. 189891,” reads a post on the municipality’s website. Then, after the building tested positive for asbestos, WorksafeNB issued a stop-work order on Aug. 11. That meant no one could enter the building until it was professionally cleaned and retested.
The closure did not include the Meductic Fire Department section of the building.
During that time, a specialized team was brought in to perform asbestos cleaning rather than abatement. Council opted for that remedy because of the cost.
The renovations were expected to run just under $30,000, but with asbestos cleaning, consultant fees (for a safety practices plan), and air testing, the total bill was nearly doubled.
Lakeland Ridges Mayor Leonard Foster told the River Valley Sun on Saturday, May 9, that their first inclination that something was wrong came when the building inspector stopped by.
“I’m not sure how the inspector became aware, but he came around and said he was doing inspections of municipal buildings. I guess I’ll take him at his word, but he identified what the problems were,” he said.
Foster downplayed the issues identified by the inspector.
“WorksafeNB last fall was following up and felt the municipality didn’t have the proper paperwork. We didn’t have an asbestos management plan, which is essentially paperwork,” he said.
Foster said the municipality corrected everything that needed fixing, developed a plan, and finally moved municipal staff into the Meductic Community Centre in Nov. 2025.
Foster said that while asbestos dust was detected, no asbestos was found in the area where the renovations were made.
When referring to the doubling of costs, the River Valley Sun asked Foster whether the council had any regrets about the move.
“It was a council decision,” he explained. “The council made the decision for people in the whole municipality, even those from North Lake coming down the highway; they saw that as better for the whole municipality,” explained Foster. “When these decisions were made, nobody knew the asbestos thing would be such an issue, but we know now.”
As for handling the nearly $30,000 cost overrun, the mayor said the bills came in increments, making it easier for the municipality to manage.
“But that was money that could have been used for other purposes,” Foster admitted. “It is what it is.”
Foster is also concerned with WorksafeNB’s timing.
“This was something they should have brought to council’s attention months ago, not a week before the election,” he said.
Building renovation timeline via Lakeland Ridges minutes
The following are copied excerpts from the Lakeland Ridges Council meeting minutes on their website:
Nov. 12 2024
MOTION: It was moved by Councillor Stairs and seconded by Councillor Porter to relocate the municipal offices and council chambers to the Meductic Community Centre after the renovations, that are deemed scientifically necessary based on the air quality test by RPC, are completed. Question to the motion: Deputy Mayor Stairs asked if cost would come into play? Council had another long discussion before Councillor Stairs amended his original motion.
Amended MOTION: It was moved by Councillor Stairs and seconded by Councillor Budd to relocate the municipal offices and council chambers to the Meductic Community Centre after the renovations, that are deemed scientifically necessary based on the air quality test by RPC, are completed. Based on the test results, should the cost of repairs be unrealistic and council feels it is unreasonable, they will revisit the decision.
7 Yay votes 1 Nay vote by Councillor Buckingham
Feb 10, 2025
Meductic Renovations/radon test – Radon test will be sent in after the 19th. Susie (Patterson, CAO) inquired about a Building Permit for the renovations. Was told due to codes an engineered or architect plan would be required. Councillor Stairs said he would contact the building inspector.
Editor’s note: The River Valley Sun has learned that the council was later told a plan wouldn’t be needed, as Councillor Randy Stairs said he spoke with the Regional Service Commission’s building inspector, telling him the municipality would only be installing two walls, which he was told would not require a building permit or an engineering or architectural plan.
Feb. 24, 2025
Review tender notice from Meductic renovations – The Transportation, Infrastructure and Assets committee drafted the Request for Proposal. Councillor Stairs said he met with the building inspector and said it only needed a few updates done to comply with the Handi-cap requirements. Council asked that the RFP be posted right away based on the motion passed in the fall of 2024.
April 29, 2025
(Councillor) Dusty Buckingham – Presented council with a petition (approximately 270 signatures) from local residents who are requesting council review the decision to move the municipal office. He pointed out that council was previously asked to look at the Canterbury Community Centre as an option, but that was never done. It was suggested that an outside party be brought in to do a study before taxpayers’ dollars as spent on renovations
May 12, 2025
Dusty Buckingham – Mr. Buckingham had a few follow-up questions to his last presentation and inquired about the petition. Mayor Foster assured Mr. Buckingham that council would review the petition before the offices are moved but that council decided to go ahead and complete the renovations regardless. In response to the petition, Councillor Budd went over the committee’s previous evaluation to support the recommendation that they gave council.
May 26, 2025
Municipal Office Renovations – reviewed quotes for additional work and invoices submitted for heat pump. Council agreed that the heat pump was already included in the approved proposal so it would need to be paid as submitted. Council decided against replacing the ceiling tiles or adding baseboard heaters.
July 14, 2025
Moving Municipal offices – Councillor Budd read a response she had prepared to Dusty Buckingham’s petition. She said that her and Councillor Yerxa met to review it and that their recommendation to council was to proceed with moving the offices to Meductic. Mayor Foster asked council when they would like to see the offices moved. Councillor Glanville questioned the security of the building, safety for the staff and important documents, and the poor accessibility access. After a discussion most of council felt there were no issues and set the date to open the new offices on August 1.
Aug. 11, 2025
RPC Results for Meductic Building – The testing came back on Friday, Aug. 8 th . Asbestos was detected. The results were forwarded to WorkSafe NB. WorkSafe issued a “Stop Work Order” on Monday, Aug. 11 which does not allow anyone entry into the building until further testing is completed. This will not affect the operation of the Fire Department. Councillor Stairs would like an explanation from WorkSafe NB as to why the building was shut down. In doing so, it has caused a lot of bad feelings. Mayor Foster said he would write a letter.
Sept. 8, 2025
PUBLIC INPUT/INQUIRIES/PRESENTATIONS: a) Rhonda Alward addressed council with concerns surrounding the temporary closure of the Meductic Building (due to a WorkSafe order). With Meductic Days fast approaching she is worried about being able to have access to the recreation departments items that are stored in the building and are needed for the event. She questioned other topics such as temporary closure of the park this summer, the septic system and park upgrades. She suggested better communication with the public.
Sept. 8, 2025 (Same meeting)
Meductic Building/WorkSafe – Mayor Foster gave an update on the meetings with WorkSafe, confirmed the test results did show asbestos and reviewed the two quotes received to have the building cleaned. The quote from PaulDavis came in at $128,148.10 (plus tax) and included asbestos abatement on asbestos containing material that shows signs of heavy damage, encapsulation of asbestos containing material not showing signs of damage (which would require annual inspections) and a complete cleaning of building and contents with hepa vacuum and wipe down. The quote from Nordic Clean Air came in at $17,400.00 (plus tax) and includes a decontamination cleaning using HEPA filtered equipment and wet wiping of horizontal surfaces within the building, and repair of damaged asbestos containing items observed at the time of the site visit. MOTION: It was moved by Councillor Stairs and seconded by Councillor Yerxa to accept the quote dated Sept. 5 th from Nordic Clean Air which includes the removal and/or repair of damaged asbestos containing items in the amount of $17,400.00 (plus tax). All in favor.
Oct. 14, 2025
Update on office move – Susie explained that a quote had been requested from Rogers for phones and internet. D.O. Deliveries had been arranged to help move the offices. Easy Clean will be coming to clean the outside of the building. Councillor Budd asked why one of our renters left. Susie said she was not informed by the renter that they were leaving. Mayor Foster said he was and that they were upset that their office door was left open after the company was in to complete the asbestos cleaning. Council discussed who should be reasonable for the security of the building. It was suggested that a Protocol Policy be established.
With files from Paige Morgan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
