Decision to move fire hall to prime ag land mystifies Prince Edward County farmers

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

by JOE CALLAHAN

Prince Edward County’s cost-saving plans to build a new fire hall on prime agricultural land is meeting with strong resistance from farmers and at least one long-time county resident who works extensively in the agriculture sector.

Larry Everall can’t understand the current direction that city hall staff and council are taking. The current plans are to build a new multi-bay fire hall on property just west of the town of Picton at the busy traffic circle, on what some describe as the best agricultural land in the county.

Everall, currently the president of the Prince Edward County Agricultural society, says that not only is prime agricultural land being given over to the fire hall, county residents living on the east side of Picton will not be as well served as they are now by the fire hall currently in place closer to the town’s center.

“On a summer day, with the tourist traffic, and it’s the tourists that drive the economy in this area, it takes a half an hour to get down the main street of Picton,” says Everall. “You write the house off if firefighters aren’t there in 15 minutes.”

Don Williams, a dairy farmer, volunteer firefighter and member of the board of directors of Prince Edward County Federation of Agriculture, also says building a central “mega-hall” west of Picton is the wrong move.

“My whole concept on firefighting is to have more smaller halls and more of them,” says Williams.

County council approved a plan November 2012 to reduce the number of fire stations to nine from 12 after an eight-member Master Fire Plan committee reviewed PEC firefighting services’ operation over a period of 18 months.

Two public meetings were held to allow for input from the community at large.

Fire Chief Scott Manlow says that a consulting firm, MHPM Project Managers Inc., has been hired to advise staff and council as to what location(s) would best serve the county. Minutes of the May 16, 2013 council meeting put the cost of the consulting firm at $120, 277.20.

Council expects the consulting firm’s recommendations by the end of this year.

“We’re still in the very early, exploratory stage,” says Manlow. BF