Jule Koch | Jan 23, 2013


Northbrook fire hall to go to design phase: At Tuesday night’s council meeting in Denbigh, Fire Chief Casey Cuddy presented the plans for a new fire hall in Northbrook, and several questions were raised.

Councilor Helen Yanch asked if the plans take into account the changes that are being proposed for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). One proposed new requirement is six feet of clearance in washrooms instead of the current five feet.

While Councilor Tony Fritsch felt that the extra foot could easily be accommodated by the plans, Cuddy said it would make the building’s footprint bigger.

Cuddy said that the plans meet all the current accessibility requirements and that if and when new legislation does come into effect, there will be no requirement to retrofit existing buildings or ones that are already under construction.

As the upper level of the fire hall is not for public use, there will be no need to put in an elevator or accessible washrooms on that floor.

Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath brought up a case he had seen, where the Ministry of Labour required that barriers be put in a new fire hall where the offices and vehicle bays were all on one level. He said that because of exhaust emissions and other concerns, the floor of the bays needs to be several inches lower than that of the offices.

Another question that engendered much discussion was whether the township should go for a design/build tender or separate the two parts of the project.

In the end Council decided to tender out the design of the fire hall first in order to get an estimate of the costs involved. They also decided that as it is uncertain when or what changes will be made to the AODA, they will meet its existing requirements.

Casey Cuddy will look further into the requirements for different levels for the fire hall and will also seek recommendations from other fire departments for a suitable company to do the design work. The plans will be finalized for the next council meeting. A motion to hire a consulting firm to help with the design phase of the project was passed by council but tabled until the next meeting.

Solar rooftop project proposed at NAEC: Queen Street Solar Co-operative, a non-profit renewable energy developer, is applying to build a 300kw solar rooftop project at North Addington Education Centre. The project would be owned by members of the public, whom the co-op hopes would include Cloyne and area residents. Council voted to support the project.

Algonquin Land Claim motion:

Council passed a motion to issue a press release stating that the township was “not consulted nor involved in the Land Selection Process for the Draft Agreement in Principle for the Algonquin Land Claim and were only notified after the Land Selection process was complete.” The township directs residents seeking information to contact the information centre of the Algonquin Land Claim directly, at 1-855-690-7070 or by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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