Extravagant 6,000 sq. ft. Staff Space Approved

By Marianne Cole

With a motion that passed 5 – 2 at their June 9th meeting, Clearwater County Council approved plans for 6,000 sq. ft. of staff space for the proposed new fire hall in Leslieville. Voting for the motion, moved by Councillor Duncan, were Councillors Duncan, Laird, Lougheed, Swanson, and Reeve Hoven. Voting in opposition were Councillors Vandermeer and Laing.

 

The over-sized two story staff space includes meeting rooms, training room, laundry facilities, over-night accommodation, washrooms, showers, 2 saunas, 2 kitchens, and storage space. The “rationale” used to justify the build included the need to support the 11 volunteer fire fighters, preparation for a potential large emergency, and the provision of training space for a third party supposedly interested in operating a training facility. These very same excuses were used to justify the exact same amount of space contained in the recently built Condor Public Services building completed in the fall of 2019. Upon completion of the Leslieville facility there would be 12,000 sq. ft. of staff space within 11 km. of each other.

 

Aside from the unnecessary cost of building the facility there are concerns about the future cost of maintenance, regular cleaning, utility costs, and the absolute lack of concrete information about the phantom training provider. For over a year now it has been mentioned by county staff that a third party is interesting in developing a training operation but there has NEVER been any name mentioned, plans given about their intentions, or facts provided of potential income to be realized from the extra space built, now in two places, to accommodate these ideas. It is noteworthy to mention that at Council’s January Strategic Planning Meeting Councillor Swanson made a motion that Council postpone RFP’s until, among other things, the receipt of a report on the estimated training revenues. No information has been received to date but the motion to proceed with RFP’s was still passed yesterday.

 

Prior to the motion on staff spacing, a motion by Councillor Swanson passed 6 – 1 that Council approve plans for a 3 bay apparatus area. There had been significant discussion re a 5 bay facility vs. a 3 bay one. In the discussion, staff, and certain council members, continued to promote the larger facility, noting the economy of building for the future. In contrast, after questioning the size of equipment to be stored and the size of the bays, Councillor Laing pointed out that in reality only 2 bays are actually needed.

 

There has been significant concern expressed by county taxpayers over the unnecessary over-build and extra costs, especially in light of the current economic situations. In support of their concerns, the Clearwater County Taxpayers’ Association promoted a public engagement meeting in March, made a presentation to Council at their March 24th meeting, and most recently wrote a letter that was sent to Council just prior to this last council meeting. Unfortunately it seems their concerns were largely ignored as indicated by the comments and decisions made yesterday.