MASSENA - Liberty Utilities made a $5,000 donation to the Massena Memorial Hospital Foundation on its first day of operation in the North Country.

Liberty Utilities, a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utility Corp., completed its acquisition of Enbridge St. Lawrence Gas on Friday.

Liberty Utilities is now serving over 16,000 customers in St. Lawrence, Franklin and Lewis counties and operating approximately 690 miles of natural gas pipeline in northern New York.

Ian Robertson, chief executive officer of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., told a crowd of employees and community leaders gathered Friday, Nov. 1, at the Liberty Utilities office on Stearns Street the company will work hard to grow the current system and support the communities in its franchise area.

"I think we are an organization that is focused on the communities we serve and want everyone to feel it. Our operating model is really about decentralized operations," he said.

Robertson noted that Mark Saltsman, a vice president with Liberty Utilities East Region based in Londonderry, N.H., has relocated to Massena to serve as general manager of Liberty Utilities New York operation.

"Mark believes the best experience for people in the communities we serve is provided by people who live and work in the community," Robertson said.

He noted the donation to the Massena Memorial Hospital Foundation was a first step and a token of the company's commitment to the communities it serves.

Saltsman said the hospital foundation was a fitting recipient for the company's first donation in the North Country.

"We understand how important the local hospital is to a community by providing vital health care needs. In my short time here, I quickly realized that one of the best places we could get involved with as a company was with the Massena Memorial Hospital Foundation. There is a real need there," he said.

Julia Rose, executive director of the Massena Memorial Hospital Foundation, said the donation couldn't have come at a better time.

"This actually comes at a perfect time for us. The hospital is in desperate need of support, both from the public and monetarily," she said. "This will actually be the capstone of a project we are doing where we are providing two new ultrasound tables to our Imaging Department," Rose said.