Aldo DiCarlo may have decided not to run in the next municipal election, but with one eye on the horizon, Amherstburg's mayor is shedding light on why councillors chose not to move ahead with building a new fire hall to replace two badly ageing ones.
Part of the rationale behind Monday night's decision is what DiCarlo calls "sticker shock." The price tag for a new fire station on the property of the Libro Credit Union Centre is $11.6-million. It will mean taking on new debt when the council has been steadily paying off the $44.6-million the town incurred as of 2014.
So far, the council has managed to pay back $14.5-million, "not bad considering the millions paid for infrastructure replacement" in the past years, DiCarlo texted WindsorNewsToday.ca.
The other reasons are more nuanced.
Amherstburg Fire Station, July 31, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
The new fire hall would replace stations No. 1 and No. 3, and No. 1 is attached to Town Hall.
"When you look at decommissioning that fire hall, but not really addressing the issues with Town Hall, there will be some accessibility issues coming up when the AODA legislation comes into play," he said. "So, I think it felt like dealing with half of the problem."
AODA legislation is the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
"The layout, the way it is, will be difficult to meet those standards," continued DiCarlo. "I'm sure, in the future, it's going to come down to putting a considerable amount of money into an old building or perhaps cutting our ties."
DiCarlo speculated council might opt to build a new Town Hall elsewhere and sell the land as surplus to help pay for projects in the future, including the new fire hall.
However, he doubts the new council will hold off on a decision long. DiCarlo believes it will be among the first orders of business when the new council takes over in November.
