Stratford budget earmarks $5M for new emergency services facility

The big ticket item in the capital budget for the Town of Stratford, P.E.I., is the development of a new emergency services facility.

The town passed both its operational and capital budgets Wednesday evening.

The capital budget earmarks $5 million for the facility, which will replace the current fire hall and RCMP office on Mason Road. 

"We're pretty excited," said Deputy Mayor Randy Cooper, who also chairs the finance and technology committee.

"[It's] something that we've been wanting to do for a number of years."

Old building has to come down

Cooper said there have been discussions about the possibility of expanding the emergency services facilities in Stratford for a number of years. This year the town is acting out of necessity.

The fire hall on Mason Road will have to be torn down later this year when the province constructs a new roundabout at that intersection. 

The new building will be larger, and will be able to accommodate not only fire services and RCMP, but will also provide space for Island EMS.

More services 

Cooper said with Stratford's population growing, it makes sense to be able to offer more services in the town, including a new full-time RCMP clerk starting in January 2019.

"We have people that have to travel for services like criminal record checks, vulnerable sector checks, for people that are volunteering within the community," Cooper said. 

"A lot of the extra services that the RCMP provide, like breathalyzer checks, or negotiations, or time that they're spending with people that they have to interview, they'll be able to do that in Stratford, rather than travelling back to the Maypoint detachment."

Cooper said the new building will also offer more space and a training facility for fire services. 

Large capital budget 

The $5 million price tag for the new building means this year's capital budget is larger than usual. The town's capital expenses for 2017 totalled less than $3 million.

Cooper said he believes it's a good time to make the investment. 

"We've been prudent over the last number of years, and we've reduced the town debt," he said.

"With the ability to be able to borrow, it just seems to be the right time."

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