Council shows support for meeting safety code requirements

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

In an attempt to demonstrate the town’s efforts in keeping the volunteer fire fighters and the community safe, town council was asked to pass a motion that could result in a fire truck to be housed in Lakewood Meadows and therefore aid in meeting the theoretical 10-minute response time – a decision requested before a public meeting was held and the bylaw passed.
Behr Energy Services provided the town with a 10-minute response area map earlier this year, but the results showed the northern part of Strathmore was left exposed and not meeting provincial standards. The timeframe, which considers deployment and response time to fires and medical emergencies, does not include Lakewood Meadows and Hillview.
Administration brought the issue to council, to discuss the feasibility of the construction of a residential dwelling with an oversize garage to accommodate a fire truck in Lakewood Meadows that would serve the 10-minute requirement for the district and surrounding districts. While many of the people crucial to the discussion process were on vacation or otherwise unavailable, administration said it was their intent to meet and begin discussions as soon as possible.
“It is my understanding that the building owner who’s proposing the oversized garage is asking for more support in principle to allow them to go forward in speaking with the fire department finding out what their needs are, and also with planning and development and our building safety code officer,” said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Linda Nelson.
“We just wanted to make sure that council was aware that there has not been a public hearing yet for second and third reading to the bylaw and that we would be looking at a lease agreement that would come before council before any hard and fast decisions are made.”
Bylaw 15-22, Protective Emergency Services, received first reading earlier in the evening during the regular town council meeting on Aug. 19. The regulation – which currently states protective emergency services such as police stations, fire halls, and ambulance services are allowed in the districts of Central Business, the CHWY Highway Commercial, the M1 Light Industrial and theP1 Public Service District – argues for fire halls and similar facilities to be allowed within residential and other districts.
Administration recommended that council approve the motion to support the building of an oversized attached garage designed to accommodate a fire truck in Lakewood Meadows, subject to the result of the public hearing, second and third reading and bylaw number 15-22, and an approved lease agreement between the town and owner of the Lakewood Meadows building, and that the fire department and the building safety code’s officer be involved as the process moves forward.
“It’s being done ahead of approval of a second and third reading to allow the developer to note that we have faith in this process and are prepared to be cooperative as we move forward,” said Councillor Denise Peterson.
“I think that there is some need to put forward a motion in this way so that the community can see our intention and the future developer can see that we want to move this agenda forward.”
However, Councillor Bob Sobol was concerned about the wording of the motion and the repercussions it could have for council in the future. According to Sobol the motion gave the impression that council was approving a lease agreement and that if the public hearing proceeds, then council agreed upon that bylaw.
“I don’t know what’s in this lease agreement, I don’t know the financial ramifications of this, I don’t know the civic ramifications of this at this point,” said Sobol. “I like the idea but I just feel that I’m in a position where I want some feedback from these firefighters who are not in town right now. I want to hear some of this discussion and I want to know what this is going to cost taxpayers. The motion sounds to me like we are approving a lease agreement that is made up between the builders and administration at this point.”
After some discussion regarding these concerns, council approved the motion that requests council to support in principle the building of an oversized attached garage designed to accommodate a fire truck in Lakewood Meadows, subject to the results of the public hearing second and third reading of bylaw 15-22, and the lease agreement between the town and the owner to be approved at a later date by council, and that the fire department and the safety code’s officer be involved as the process moves forward.
“As previously mentioned the 10 minute response maps and documents our living records that must be constantly monitored and assessed as growth occurs,” said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Linda Nelson.
“In this way staff will have the ability to constantly update and reassess the 10 minute response area to ensure that we are current in our application in the 10 minute rule as it relates to building codes. There will be significant operational challenges that will need to be resolved prior to finalizing this proposal. We are confident that continuous research and data gathering will result in a successful continuous process towards enhancing fire safety within the town of Strathmore.”