A key focus of the Advisory Select Committee’s (ASC) 11th meeting on May 30, 2018, was on the space/rooms required for Creston Fire Rescue’s new Fire Hall, with committee members also weighing in on their preferred process for the Committee’s open houses on June 24 and 25, 2018.
The meeting began with discussion and revision of the Committee’s principles, developed in previous deliberations. Leading the ASC through the spatial analysis’ 40-item list, FireWise Consulting Ltd.’s Ernie Polsom then asked committee members to draw upon these principles in making recommendations, specifically their agreement that a fire hall “will be based upon current and future Creston Fire Rescue service levels and needs, not based on wants and likes.
“We are concerned there is a public perception that the ASC’s work is simply a repackaging of the pre-referendum Fire Hall design,” he said. “The ASC must, therefore, ensure analysis of the Fire Hall’s spatial design is based on your needs-vs.-likes principle.
“Ask yourself: Are there rooms on this list that don’t need to be here? Conversely, are there rooms that haven’t been included that should be?”
Discussion of specific rooms ensued, with ASC members probing the conception of the Fire Hall’s 258-square-foot Health and Wellness Centre. One committee member who is also a volunteer firefighter reminded the group that this space was not conceived as a full-fledged gymnasium, “but as a space that will allow firefighters to sweat out toxins following a fire.” Other committee members queried the need for four gender-neutral washrooms; they were informed the number was based upon BC Building Code requirements, which base washroom numbers upon building occupant load.
The Committee also discussed the possibility for more storage capacity in the Fire Hall, agreeing to consider using a potentially superfluous 129-square-foot back-up server space for storage purposes.
The meeting wound up with a roundtable on the ASC’s June 24 and 25 open houses. Members agreed these events must reflect the work done within the ASC; further, they should include a presentation and small break-out circles for further discussion.
The ASC’s 11th meeting was held from 6:30 to 8:35 p.m. in Council Chambers at the Town of Creston’s Town Hall and at the Creston Fire Hall. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on select Wednesday evenings throughout June 2018, with the next meeting scheduled for June 6, 2018.
The ASC was formed to make recommendations to Council on solutions to address the deficiencies of the existing Fire Hall, in order to meet the province’s legislative/regulatory requirements and industry standards. To view the latest ASC Meeting materials, go to www.creston.ca
