Perth Road Fire Hall cost: $1.5 million

Wilma Kenny | Jul 19, 2017

South Frontenac Council held a brief meeting this week to resolve the question of exceeding the amount ($1,000,000) budgeted for the construction of a new fire station at Perth Road.

The current station is in disrepair and considered unfit to be used for training meetings, and Council has already purchased a larger lot on the main road for the new fire station.

Public Works Manager Segsworth confirmed that only the supplemental water tank has been removed from the specifications presented at last week’s Council. There was brief discussion confirming the intent that the same building design could serve as a prototype for future firehalls in the Township. The training room has potential to be used by the Township for public meetings to gather community input on issues, training space for public works, and Federal and Provincial Polling stations.

Mayor Vandewal said that while in an ideal world all the Township fire halls would be replaced in the not-too-distant future, in reality some of the halls are functioning adequately, and with proper maintenance and upkeep could have their lives extended. “We need to keep our halls maintained to a higher standard; there has been no upkeep on these buildings for years.”

Council unanimously agreed: to award the contract to Anglin Construction in the amount of $1,465,569 (the low bid); to fund the extra $491,363 from the Facilities/ Property Reserve; and to budget the costs for site works, paving and landscaping in 2018 for the estimated amount of $200,000. Councillor Schjerning noted that the final cost of the building was close to the original architect’s estimate. No one commented on whether or not the 2017 budget might have been trimmed unrealistically.