Replacing the Courtenay Street fire station may be City of Powell River’s next capital project priority, but the city does not currently have the funds to pay for it.
The issue was raised at the city’s committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, October 18.
“From staff’s perspective, this is the next major priority,” said city chief administrative officer Mac Fraser. “But that does not necessarily mean there is a pot of money available. There are some hard decisions to make.”
Fraser said the city is better off financially than it was a few years ago, but money will have to be borrowed to pay for the replacement.
Mayor Dave Formosa said now that Powell River Public Library’s new location is under construction, grant funding for twinning the Haslam Lake trunk water main has been secured and the province has signed off on the city’s plans for a consolidated liquid waste management facility, the focus can now shift to replacing the fire station.
Formosa said that in his last two years as mayor he would like to see the project advance.
“We knew the firehall would be right up there as an expense,” said Formosa. “Before I go I want to see that we have this thing in hand.”
Formosa added that more work needs to be done to find money from the federal government.
City director of emergency services and Powell River Fire Rescue chief Terry Peters estimates the city will need to spend $8 million to build a station that meets the needs of the community.
“We’re doing everything we can to lessen the blow,” said Peters, “but the reality is I’m here to assess risk to the community, and frankly, we’re only as good as the people we have and our ability to respond.”
Peters told the committee that efforts to build a new facility, one that would meet current seismic structural standards, go back more than 20 years. In 2013, council signed off on the Barnet Street location and environmental and geotechnical assessments of the site have been completed. The project is shovel-ready, all that is required is funding.
Formosa said that raising city taxes by one per cent would net the city approximately $128,000 more in revenue.
Projects to build fire stations do not qualify for funding from the provincial and federal governments, said Fraser.
Peters pointed out that there may be other avenues to access grant funds from senior levels of government.
“We’re turning over every possible stone to find money for this,” Peters told the committee.
Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman asked Peters if there were less expensive options being looked at. She brought up the fact that Powell River Regional District Northside Volunteer Fire Department’s Craig Road Station cost approximately $800,000. She asked why the city needed to spend 10 times more.
Peters explained that the Craig Road station, though built to be earthquake resistant, would not be suitable for the city to house its professional fire unit or have enough space for a city emergency coordination centre and mustering point. Peters did tell the committee that he is open to other options, as long as they fit with the community’s needs.
According to the city’s five-year financial plan, the project is scheduled to be undertaken in 2019.
