Oliver Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis says she's keeping an "open mind" as residents continue to mull a consultant's recommendation to trim the community's number of fire halls and build a new facility beside the municipal office.
"I won't have an opinion until after we have fully looked at what the consultant has said, and until we get more input from our fire chief," Kloosterhuis said on Wednesday.
The municipality is hosting today the second of two open houses where the public can view and ask questions about a proposed 10-year plan for Oliver Paipoonge's fire department.
Kloosterhuis, who attended the first open house on Monday in Rosslyn, said public feedback so far has been constructive. About 30 people attended the Rosslyn event.
The 61-page consultant's report — which is available on the municipality's website — says the fire department would operate more efficiently and still deliver required service if the number of fire halls was cut to four from six.
It recommends building a new fire station adjacent to Oliver Paipoonge's Highway 130 municipal office, as well as consolidating the existing stations that serve Stanley and Kakabeka Falls into a single facility.
Constructing a new fire station next to the community's municipal office would cost in the range of $3-7 million, the report estimates.
The plan would also involve the closure of the existing Intola and Rosslyn fire halls. The Murillo and Slate halls would remain in service.
At the end of the day, Kloosterhuis, "it all comes down to what taxpayers are willing to pay."
Today's second open house is to take place at Murillo's community hall from 4-8 p.m.