Fire hall gets go-ahead in Central Frontenac

by Jeff Green

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Central Frontenac Council has contracted Cornerstone Construction of Belleville to put up a pre-engineered, five-bay fire hall at the township yard at Wagner Road and Road 38 for $475,000.

Other costs, such as a $6,000 consulting fee, and the costs for well and septic, should push the price up to around $500,000, which is what the township budgeted for the hall back in May.

Township Public Works Manager Bill Nicol and Fire Chief Mark MacDonald recommended the Cornerstone bid, which was one of three responses to a tender call for the construction that closed on September 22.

Nicol told Council that “Cornerstone was very accommodating yesterday as we worked with them to bring the contract in within our budget.”

The new fire hall will include five 40-foot deep bays, two offices for dispatch and reporting, full access washrooms with showers, a good sized training room, which can hold 20-25 people, and a lunchroom/kitchenette. The building will be built to what is called an evacuation centre or post-disaster standard and will become a major part of the township’s emergency preparedness strategy.

“The building will be 5440 square feet, and to get it built for under $100 per square foot with all of the standards that are required for a fire hall is very good,” said Chief MacDonald.

Work is already being done on Wagner Road to improve access to the township yard so fire trucks will be able to enter and leave the yard quickly and safely.

Construction is set to begin immediately.

In a subsequent interview, Mark MacDonald said that Cornerstone Construction was made aware of the fact that the township has plans to build a slightly smaller fire hall in Mountain Grove next year and that “may be part of the reason that Cornerstone came in with such a good price.”