The Advisory Select Committee (ASC) focused on two streams of discussion during its tenth meeting, namely: the Committee’s key learnings and messages for dissemination to the Creston Valley community; and the Fire Hall design and development principles guiding ASC recommendations to Creston Town Council.
FireWise Consulting Ltd.’s Ernie Polsom led the ASC through a review of the Committee’s key learnings around the complexities of building a fire hall in British Columbia, addressing the background and current situation supporting the ASC’s investigation, site for a new fire hall, and next steps toward communicating ASC learnings to the Creston Valley community.
Among the notes from the key messages are a series of funding facts, including that the “Town of Creston has received a commitment from the Regional District as a long-term financial partner for debt servicing of up to $1.48M of the eventual project cost”; that “the Town is exploring a cost-neutral partnership with BC Ambulance”; and that “the Town is committed to applying for relevant federal and provincial grants to help offset the cost of a new Fire Hall.”
Recommendations for communicating the ASC’s key insights to the Creston community include: inviting members of the public to send their ideas to Committee Facilitator Kerry McArthur (cfhasc.facilitator@gmail.com); dropping off their comments in writing to Town Hall for forwarding to the ASC; making a presentation to the ASC; observing ASC Wednesday evening meetings; and making a presentation to the ASC.
The second half of the meeting was spent forming design and development principles for the new Fire Hall. Two significant principles emerged from the discussion around energy efficiency and design leadership, including:
1. Proven technologies will be explored and evaluated through an Energy Modeling process to achieve a balance between energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
2. The Fire Hall must be ‘comfortable in its place,’ reflecting Creston’s established building and environment design. The Fire Hall will be a long-term project with modern design and functionality, with adequate space for current functions but able to be expanded to address growth and to serve as an effective anchor to regional service delivery.
The ASC’s tenth meeting was held from 6:30 to 8:10 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 from May to June 2018, with the next meeting scheduled for May 30, 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 Minutes, click here.
Submitted by Kerry McArthur | Community Fire Hall Advisory Select Committee Facilitator |Communications Coordinator
