Council moves to fix faulty phones at Carbonear pool

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Carbonear council is hoping to soon resolve problems with the phone system at the swimming pool.
Councillor Malcolm Seymour, who chairs the Town’s recreation committee, put forward a motion at council’s March 11 meeting to approve the supply and installation of a new telephone system at the pool by Alt Telecom at a cost of $5,980 HST included, plus a monthly charge of $145.
The pool’s previous phone system was supplied by Bell Aliant, but that company no longer provides the same service the town is looking for, Seymour said.
“They have a company out of Ontario that does all this stuff for them and the price range, when we looked at comparing it like we always have to do, Bell wasn’t even handy to what we got here,” said Seymour. “So, this is why we went this way.”
Alt Telecom is based in St. John’s. The proximity of the company found favour with Deputy Mayor Sam Slade.
“(It’s) always important, we say, that we get our maintenance as close to the area as we can,” said Slade. “That’s very important, that part of it. And that doesn’t only go for the phone system. Sometimes, when you’re a long way away from whoever’s supplying you, and you’ve got to pay for them to travel or come in here to fix or repair or whatever the case may be, that could become quite costly, too.”
Councillor Peter Snow expressed concern about the resolution.
“I know several businesses in the area that the phones have been down for two or three weeks and have been contacting back and forth with Bell,” said Snow. “My concern there, even though it might be a new company or a new company name, they’re probably piggybacking on Bell’s system. So it’s still the same lines then, otherwise, we’re just going to a new company for new equipment. I don’t know if it’d be wise to delay this resolution for a few more weeks or if you want to go ahead.”
However, Snow acknowledged that if Alt Telecom is going to be cheaper than Bell and its system works, council is obligated to go with the cheapest system as long as it’s functioning.
Councillor Danielle Doyle expressed concern about Alt Telecom’s cost.
“I’ve got no problem with the quotes or the package or anything like that,” she said. “I want to know what we are paying for that service in there because it is an increase from what we currently have.”
Seymour assured his fellow councillors that Alt Telecom had been well-vetted.
“This has been really looked at and really investigated into for the regards of where we need to channel and where we need to go with this,” he said.
Seymour said Alt Telecom has been in service for a long time and also operates in other areas of Newfoundland including Deer Lake and Clarenville.
“We did some background checks and everything on it, but in regards of what we’re doing here, we’re not going to jump to a conclusion and say we’re going to do this, but we did do our homework.”
Seymour said the malfunctioning phone system has been the biggest challenge for people wanting to contact the pool.
Put to a vote, the motion to hire Alt Telecom passed.