The third person running for mayor of Espanola is Ron Piche. On the issue of an OPP costing study, Piche emphasizes it’s only a study and he stresses it doesn’t mean the town is automatically switching over. Piche says assuming a study is done, one of the first groups that would see it would be the local town police. He says assuming the OPP comes in less than what the municipal force charges, the question would be asked can the town police do it cheaper. Piche also says a big issue for him is infrastructure and the lack of upgrading and replacement work going on. He says residents have to keep running their water to keep it clean because pipes are up to 80 years old and need replacing. On the issue of a fire hall, unlike his two rivals, Piche doesn’t automatically want to build a new facility. He’s concerned that a new building would deplete reserves. Piche gets it that something needs to be done and he believes the present building still has some use. He says the best way to determine this one way or the other is with an engineer’s report. He says the report would detail exactly what’s absolutely needed at the existing building.
