Mountain View County (MVC) councillors have passed a number of motions related to the proposed new Didsbury firehall.
During last week's regularly scheduled council meeting, councillors OK'd the following three motions:
• “That council authorized the CAO to negotiate a co-ownership agreement with the Town of Didsbury for the construction of a new fire hall in Didsbury on an equal partnership basis.”
• “That council authorizes the Town of Didsbury to use the $73,490 county portion of residual Didsbury fire authority funds towards the county's share of the preliminary design and request proposal preparation costs for construction of a joint fire hall in Didsbury.”
• “The council approve the Didsbury fire hall committee's recommendation of a design build process for construction of a new fire hall in Didsbury adjacent to the new public works building on the north end of town.”
The Didsbury fire advisory committee is comprised of two councillors each from MVC and the Town of Didsbury.
“The county's investment in the proposed project should be secured through joint title to the property and a co-ownership agreement that will provide detail on responsibility for each municipality and a pre-structured arrangement in the event joint ownership is terminated,” said CAO Tony Martens.
MVC Reeve Bruce Beattie said a cost estimate and size estimate for the new fire hall have not yet been made.
“We feel that (joint title and ownership) is an appropriate setup with the municipalities,” said Beattie. “The new hall will serve the rural residents around Didsbury and obviously that building that is there now doesn't meet the needs of the current situation. We need a new fire hall and this demonstrates Mountain View County's ability to work with the municipalities in the county.”
He said the plan right now is to have the new hall open in 2015.
"We need a new fire hall."Bruce Beattie, Reeve
