Green light

Industrial park land in Picton will be the locaton of a new eight bay facility housing both fire and land ambulance services.

Council gives nod to industrial park site for new Picton firehall

Council seized upon a revised proposal that will see a new firehall built on 8.6 acres of industrial park land on the north end of Picton. The estimated cost to construct the hall is $4.1 million.

The revised proposal retains the Hallowell firehall on Mallory Road in Bloomfield. That hall had been on the cutting block in the original proposal—a proposal that had been developed and recommended by a committee of firefighters and municipal officials as part of a review of the County’s Master Fire Plan. That plan had called for the development of a 12-bay station in the vicinity of the traffic circle on the western edge of Picton.

But when it was put on the table earlier this year, it faced stiff and immediate opposition from a number of quarters. Folks in North Marysburgh complained that the closure of th fire hall on the Heights, coupled with the relocation of the Picton firehall several kilometres to the west, would mean reduced fire protection for their homes and businesses. Farming groups objected to prime agricultural land given up for institutional purposes, and Bloomfield residents didn’t want to see Mallory Road station closed.

Several firefighters were also critical of the original proposal. Greg Moore along with firefighters Don Williams and Dave Fox, disagreed with the underlying premise that one large firehall can adequately replace several smaller halls situated closer to residents’ homes.

Faced with this opposition, council sent the plan back to staff to assess alternatives.

Last week, staff presented a revised plan— this one features a smaller hall—eight bays versus 12—to be located in the industrial park between MacDonald and MacSteven Drive. It will consolidate both the fire and land ambulance services into a single facility. The land ambulance services is housed in a leased building nearby on MacSteven Drive. This lease is up for renewal in 2016.

The revised plan also retains the Hallowell firehall on Mallory Road.

Nearly everyone is happy. The modified plan gives the Picton firefighers a faster and simpler route to Glenora and North Marysburgh. Heading south, west or north, firetrucks can avoid potential congestion on Picton’s Main Street entirely. The new location avoids prime agricultural land, though it reduces the municipality’s inventory of serviced industrial land.

Greg Moore remains unconvinced the municipality ought to be spending a few million dollars on a new hall, but he and fellow firefighters Williams and Fox can live with the revised proposal.

There remained a few concerns around the council table. Wellington councillor Jim Dunlop is unsure that combining fire and land ambulance services into one building is necessary or desirable. He wanted to know if staff had approached the landlord of the land ambulance facility about the possibility of buying it.

The County’s finance chief Susan Turnbull said she had not—but noted that a significant portion of the potential operating savings the County hopes to achieve in this plan comes from these two services sharing one facility.

The County’s manager Merlin Dewing added that it was unlikely the owner would be persuaded to let the building go for an amount that would offset the potential savings of a shared facilty.

Brian Marisett said the revised plan was acceptable but considered it “mind-boggling” that it had taken so long to arrive at this plan—sidestepping the fact that this was not the recommendation of a committee of firefighters and County officials who had studied the issue for about two years.

Some councillors, even though they liked the plan, worried that 8.7 acres was too much for a combined firehall and land ambulance station— that it robbed the community of potential lots with which the municipality might attract investment.

“We are giving up job creation opportunity,” said Picton councillor Bev Campbell. “We should understand the impact.”

Turnbull noted that the land may be oversized—and there may be an opportunity to free up some lots once detailed design and engineering drawings are prepared.

“We did not spend a cent on consultants in assessing this site,” said Turnbull.

North Marysburgh councillor Robert Quaiff had been a leading opponent to a new fire hall at the Picton traffic circle. He said last week this was a plan he could live with. Fire vehicles bound for North Marysburgh will be able to avoid Picton’s commercial core.

“I take my hat off to the fire chief and staff for this revised plan,” said Quaiff.

Sophiasburgh councillor Terry Shortt was the lone council member to sit on the Fire Master Plan committee. He continues to believe the committee’s recommendation was the right way to go—but acknowledged last week that politics is about compromise.

“We have aging fire protection infrastructure,” said Shortt. “It is time to do something.

Ameliasburgh councillor Janice Maynard said credit for the new plan, in fact, belonged to her fellow council colleagues—adding an arrow to her re-election campaign quiver.

“It’s a compromise solution,” said Maynard. “I commend council for making this happen.”

When the vote was called, it appeared all, or nearly all the committee of council’s members were on board with the revised plan.