Fernie city council has decided to go ahead with the new fire hall project despite unknown costs.
Mayor Nic Milligan says even though they don’t the full costs of the project, having a new fire hall is vital.
“This is a project that has been kicked down the road since 1979 when our firefighters were moved into a repurposed tire shop,” he said.
“I personally think it’s unforgivable that we’ve kicked it down the road for this long and we’re still considering kicking it down the road. We’re at risk of absolutely gutting our fire service because we can’t keep auxiliaries because of the temporary situation we’re in now.”
Councillor Troy Nixon agrees and says residents will be financially impacted if fire services end up depleted.
“We need a fire hall and we need it soon. We’re all going to end up paying more in insurance if we avoid this and continue on with this temporary fire hall,” Nixon added.
“Our firefighters deserve a fire hall, our community deserves a fire hall and we need this for everybody.”
A lot of work still needs to be done before construction can begin.
The city will need to issue an advanced procurement notice, issue an RFP for pre-construction services and complete a pre-construction service scope to finalize a design and cost estimate.
The city would need to borrow money to cover the cost of the project.
If the project cost is under $14 million the city would not be required to have a referendum, but Milligan says the plan no matter what is to let the residents decide.
“The community will ultimately decide whether we build a fire hall or not, but I want to get to a point where we’re putting the best design and throughout project before them so they can make a thorough and informed decision,” he said.
The decision to move ahead with the project was a close one.
Milligan, Nixon and councillor Kyle Hamilton voted in favour, while councillors Harsh Ramadass, Tracey Audia Kelly voted against it.
A tie vote would have defeated the motion.
Councillor Ted Shoesmith decided not to vote and any non-vote is counted as a vote in favour.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyEastKootenayNow News Alerts.
