A proposed plan to create a new Niagara-on-the-Lake Fire and Emergency Services headquarters at Station 3 in Virgil has raised alarm bells with town councillors concerned about the impact it could have on the municipality’s administrative staff.
Jay Plato, the town’s fire chief and director of municipal law enforcement, told councillors during their April 15 committee meeting there had been a change in plans that would see fire personnel relocated from town hall to Station 3.
Councillors had agreed in 2021 to spend $175,000 to create architectural drawings to relocate staff to Station 1 in Old Town. The funding was never used and was eventually returned to the town’s capital reserve.
Plato said the $175,000 should be taken from the fund to create new drawings for an expanded space at Station 3.
Plato said there are several reasons for switching to Station 3 from Station 1. He said administrative staff, which include six firefighting personnel and nine bylaw enforcement individuals who occupy the mezzanine level of town hall, would be able to provide needed support at the Virgil station.
In comparison, the Old Town station has seen an increase in the number of firefighters from 14 out of 25 available rosters to 23. In addition, there remain “challenges” in adding staff at the Old Town station, said Plato.
He said two capital projects were recently completed with total budgetary savings of about $200,000, which was returned to the capital reserve. Plato said the $175,000 can be taken from the reserve to finance the architectural drawings.
“We’ve done the homework, we’ve done the research,” said Plato. “We are confident with the data.”
He said having administrative staff who are also firefighters located in Virgil will not impact a six-minute response time to attend a fire in Old Town.
Plato said a 2024 focused headquarters location study “reinforced” the benefits of relocating staff to the Virgil station.
“Station No. 3 is just as good as Station No. 1 in response time,” said Plato.
He said if councillors approved the funding for drawings for a new fire headquarters, it would be 2028 before any work would be done on the fire station.
Plato said the cost of a new headquarters is estimated to be about $2 million, which would be funded through the town’s budget, along with various provincial and federal grants.
Councillors, though, were skeptical of relocating firefighting staff to the Virgil station. Several said it raised questions about the need for the necessary accommodation the town can provide for its staff. And a few councillors said it was still important to have fire personnel at the Old Town station.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor said it is imperative to have quick response times for a fire in Old Town to save its many historical buildings should need arise.
“(Firefighters) would need to act quickly to a fire on Queen Street,” said O’Connor.
Coun. Wendy Cheropita said the cost of such a move is “pretty significant.”
She said the town could upgrade its infrastructure, which has become a budgeting priority over the years, with the cost associated with a new headquarters.
“Is it the right time (for a new fire headquarters)?” she asked.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, who introduced a motion to refer the issue to a future meeting, said there “is some more work to be done to get to a better place.”
“There are more things to investigate,” said Zalepa.
This includes the impact on the organization and what happens to the bylaw enforcement department, he said.
“I’m not comfortable moving it forward,” Zalepa added. “We need a fulsome discussion of what the corporation needs.”