BONNYVILLE – MD of Bonnyville in a ‘holding pattern’ when it comes to the Fort Kent and Ardmore fire halls.
Although the work on the inside of the facilities is mostly completed, the same can't be said for the outside of the buildings.
MD council discussed the projects during their regular meeting on July 28 when a couple of councillors and Reeve Greg Sawchuk, who sit on the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) board, said they went on a tour of the two facilities.
“The inside of the halls are almost entirely complete, except for one wall that needs to be painted,” noted Coun. Mike Krywiak, who sits on the BRFA board. “But, the outside is a disaster. If something isn’t done soon, it will be another year before we’ll have access to that building.”
CAO Al Hoggan added, “It’s my understanding that both of the buildings have water, sewer, and power. I’ve been in both buildings, the lights come on and there was water in the sinks. As far as I understand, those things are completed. I think all that’s left is the exterior of the building, signage, and the parking lots are the big things that are left. There’s some other work that needs to be done, particularly at the Ardmore (location) in terms of the approach. It will be difficult for some vehicles to get into the building where the current approach is set up but that’s just a matter of culverts, gravel and redoing the approach to the road.”
There aren’t very many options for the municipality on hurrying the project along, unless council tells administration to complete the work in house, stated Hoggan.
“Unless council is prepared to weigh in this and direct us to finish the building at our cost, knowing that the chance of recouping any of that cost back from the contractors is virtually zero, that’s certainly an option,” he continued. “But, right now, the contractor is the one responsible for the building with a tendered contract and there’s not much I can do other than council saying ‘go finish it at our cost.’ There’s not really anything I can do.”
The projects have been in the works since 2018 when council and the BRFA decided the Fort Kent and Ardmore fire halls needed an update. The original budget was $5 million, however, that was increased to $5.16 million due to the contractor encountering poor and substandard soil conditions at the Ardmore location.
According to Sawchuk, council was hoping the facilities would be functional by this past spring but that wasn’t the case.
“We knew right away, as soon as the snow was gone, that there were issues with what was laid late last year in regards to the parking lots and that was all going to have to be replaced,” he told Lakeland This Week. “That’s what we’re still waiting on. In the meantime, there has been working going on.”
While the delay is ‘frustrating,’ Sawchuk said the wait would be worth it once the buildings are completed.
“I think council’s concern is we’re sitting at a stalemate, but going through them, these are going to be a huge step up from the tin shacks that Ardmore and Fort Kent were in. When you see the training area and the place where the units are going to be, you’re not going to have to worry about hitting the back wall,” he detailed. “They’re going to be fantastic once they get into them. It’s frustrating for everyone to see them there with the lights on and ready to go and it’s just a matter of getting that outside work done. I’m with council that it would be nice to get them in there and for the communities too.”
When the work on the outside of the buildings will be completed is unknown and council doesn’t know when firefighters will be able to move into either facility.