The financial plan is now official for a new fire station in the village of Alfred.
On Tuesday, July 15, Alfred and Plantagenet township council approved a budget of $ 3,320,205 for the redevelopment of an existing building located at 4916 County Road 17 at the west end of Alfred as a new fire station. The current fire station, located on St-Philippe Street in Alfred, was built in 1984 and has a series of structural and access problems.
The budget adopted by council for the new station includes the $1,275,000 for the purchase of the building and land, $1,906,255 for renovations, and $138,950 for architectural and engineering fees.
An amount of $2,969,398 will be financed through a 30-year loan with Infrastructure Ontario, the provincial public works financing agency. The remaining $350,810 will be paid from the township’s working capital reserve. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) will also negotiate a long-term lease agreement with the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) for space it will rent as a paramedic station.
The township already purchased the site of the new station in 2024. Following the property purchase, the township retained the services of Integrated Design Engineering Architecture (IDEA) of Ottawa to complete the design work for a new fire station, in accordance with the requirements of the Ontario Building Code. The design of the new station is nearing completion, and the administration is now ready to proceed with the tendering process. The new station will be approximately 6,500 square feet, including approximately 1,200 square feet of rentable space for the UCPR Emergency Services.
The Ontario Building Code requires the township to comply with post-disaster requirements, meaning the building must meet certain specific standards to withstand natural disasters.
The administration would propose a $2,969,398 loan as discussed above in Option 1, and that the balance of $350,808 be paid from the “working capital” reserve (account GL-12-2000-9200). The payment schedule for Option 1 is attached to this report.
The Township has an agreement in principle with the UCPR for a 25-year lease for the paramedic station. The monthly rent is currently estimated to be $2,500, plus a contribution from the UCPR for operating costs, including public accounts and snow removal.
The township administration is currently working with GrantMatch to obtain a grant under the Training Component of the federal Skills Development Fund, which could reach $200,000. That potential amount has not been included in the project budget.
The tendering process is to begin during the week of July 28 and last for three weeks. A review of the bids and awarding of the contract by council is to take place during the week of August 18. The renovations and site preparation are anticipated to take five months to complete and are scheduled for September 2025 to January 2026. The official opening of the new fire station is tentatively planned for February 2026.
Council’s decision was adopted without significant discussion or debate. Councillor Ian Walker was not present for the meeting.
