Residents of Brownsburg-Chatham will not be voting on if money should be spent to build a new fire station in Brownsburg.
At the June 3 municipal council meeting, Mayor Kévin Maurice said no signatures were received to petition the town to hold a referendum on the expenditure. Québec municipal law allows municipalities to collect signatures petitioning for a referendum.
Maurice acknowledged that the cost of the new fire station is a large sum of money. In 2023, the cost of the new facility was projected at $5,058,250, and in May 2024, it had increased to $7,049,350. Maurice said the municipality is trying its best to find savings.
The government of Québec is funding 73 per cent of the cost of the new fire station.
Budget boost for arena
An additional $200,000 could be spent on renovations at Arèna Gilles-Lupien in Brownsburg. On June 3, Brownsburg-Chatham council approved increasing the budget in case additional costs arise.
Maurice said the additional amount will only be used if necessary and every effort will be made to avoid using it.
A $2.6 million renovation project is currently underway at the arena. The construction contract was awarded in March for $2.4 million.
The Québec and federal governments are contributing a combined amount of $1.4 million for the arena renovations.
Two new charging stations
Two more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be added in Brownsburg.
According to Brownsburg-Chatham Director-General Jean-François Brunet, the recent designation of the municipality as a Village-Relais by the Ministère des transports has made Brownsburg-Chatham eligible for two additional level two fast-charging stations from the Circuit Electrique network. They will be installed at the parking lot of the Arèna Gilles-Lupien on rue MacVicar in Brownsburg.
