$6 Million Fire Hall A Go in Osoyoos

It was the topic of debate in the town of Osoyoos but after much consideration, the proposal to build a new six million dollar fire hall will go forward. Initially, a majority of voters rejected the proposal, and yet in a recently drawn referendum on the council agenda, the project was passed with a total of 913 in favour and 667 against the proposed construction.

Now with the community on board with the project, the town of Osoyoos can expect a higher level of quality service from the fire department.

The old fire hall was outdated, ill-equipped, and littered with safety hazards. Osoyoos Mayoral retiree, Stu Wells, confirmed that the current fire hall was so behind in the times that it could not even accommodate a modern day fire truck.

A report released in 2007 by the Town of Osoyoos detailed a number of deficiencies at the existing facility, including several WorkSafe BC infractions.

“The building is very ancient and has a lot of challenges as we look at even the charging station required for all the electronics. We're just really hard pressed working out of such an old building,” commented outgoing Mayor Wells “It's been a long time in the works and a lot of people have put a great amount of effort getting it this far.”

A number of other areas such as structure, design, and level of services are to also be addressed going forward with the construction. The new fire hall is to boast energy efficiency, well adept training facilities, and a pristine communications centre. In addition, the proposed building is designed to have a minimum 50 year life span.

“The multi-purpose design allows for a secondary use of the facility as an emergency operations centre in the event of disaster,” reads a statement from the Osoyoos Fire Hall FAQs

Caption: the new proposed fire hall (Credit: Osoyoos Fire Department)

The need for a new fire hall in Osoyoos renders essential yet paying the bill for such a project is never an easy feat. Just how much will the new fire hall cost tax payers and where are the finances coming from?

According to the Osoyoos Fire Hall Department, the total building construction will cost $6,619,800, that includes a 10 per cent contingency allowance.

The town will access $407,000 in provincial grants and the Osoyoos Rural Fire Protection district is contributing $250,000 of its share of the cost.

That leaves $5,962,657 in borrowing from the provincial Municipal Finance Authority over a 30 year period. In addition, an estimated interest rate of 3.3 per cent is guaranteed for a 10 year period.

The Osoyoos Indian Band or ORFPD are also contributing $2 million, and as for tax payers, they'll be responsible for $4 million of the almost $6 million borrowed.

The proposed fire hall is to be built on city property that was purchased several years ago. A construction start date has yet to be set.

Photo Credit: Osoyoos Fire Department