New Fire Hall

The current fire station is part of the municipal building on Douglas Street in Salisbury. The original fire station was constructed in 1975 as a standalone structure (48 years ago), with the subsequent addition, including municipal offices, in later years.

The Town is nearing completion of the schematic design phase of this project and will enter into the construction document phase. It is expected that the tender for construction will be issued in the Spring of 2024 and the ground-breaking will occur shortly thereafter. The building is expected to be occupied as of 2025.

The following is an overview of the building features:

• Double-entrance double apparatus bay;
• Multi-purpose room, accessible to the Public;
• Gym, available to Department members and municipal staff;
• Lounge area;
• Male and female washrooms, specific to the Department (separate from space accessible to the public);
• A breathing apparatus room;
• Mechanical/compressor room;
• A workroom;
• A radio room;
• One office (Fire Chief);
• A flex office, accessible to Department members who may choose to work remotely from the station and increase availability of members during the day-time hours;
• A gear-cleaning room;
• Storage/mezzanine, with option for future use, on a second floor.

The following presents an overview of the final floor plan:

In early 2023, the Town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for professional services for the design of the Salisbury Fire Rescue Facility and received six (6) proposals. The Town retained Jost+ Architects for this work, and has been working with them since the award for the building design. While Jost+ Architects is the primary consultant, they have sub-contracted engineering work to Fundy Engineering (mechanical, electrical, civil) and Giffin Engineering (structural).

As part of the design work, the Town struck two primary working groups:

• A Fire Department Working Group, consisting of the Chief, the Deputy Chief, three Department members, and the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO);
• An internal working group consisting of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the Manager of Infrastructure & Public Works, the Clerk/Treasurer, and the Lead Architect.

This project will be financed with a debenture (loan) through annual installments through the Town’s Operating Budget.

The Town will be pursuing funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)’s Green Municipal Building Fund. This fund aims to assist municipalities with financing energy-efficient buildings through a 15% grant and a subsequent low-interest loan. Throughout the project, the Town has compared costing options between traditional borrowing means available to Municipalities and through FCM’s funding program, and has determined that pursuing the FCM option, even if certain environmentally-proactive measures increase construction costs, is the most feasible option for the Town.

If successful through this program, the Town will take a 30-year loan through FCM with the remainder being covered through the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board (MCBB) for a 20-year term.

The design costs have been paid for with the Town’s 2023 Operating Budget and with a contribution through the Canada Community Building Fund (CCBF). As well, the Town has applied to FCM’s Feasibility Study stream to fund a portion of the design costs.

During the Special Council Meeting of November 2, 2023, Salisbury Town Council authorized an application to the Municipal Capital Borrowing Board (MCBB) for a total of $7,500,000. Given the project has not yet been tendered, pre-tender estimates are not being released at this time. However, the MCBB authorization is a borrowing ceiling, and is not necessarily intended to be the exact cost of the building alone. This borrowing authority is required before the Municipality can pursue the proposed funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The Town has, in recent years, completed a spatial analysis for municipal buildings. In 2023, it completed an architectural assessment of the building space to ensure that the municipal building at 56 Douglas Street could sustain the growth of the Town in light of Local Governance Reform. This work confirmed that the municipal building will fit the needs of the Town for the foreseeable future. The current Fire Department bays will become the area for the Town’s Department of Infrastructure and Public Works. This will optimize the space, better protect Town assets from vandalism and theft, reduce off-site storage costs, and provide much-needed space for maintenance, repairs, and general workspace.

The following presents an overview of the work undertaken for the new Facility since 2019:

2019:

• In 2019, a Needs Assessment was completed for a new Fire Hall.

2022:

• In 2022, the land transaction for the building location was completed for the land on Main Street.

2023:

• In 2023, the Town retained the Architect firm to design the Facility and have the 2019 Needs Assessment updated, create the Room Data Sheets (specific requirements for each element of the Facility), and design the building;
• The Town worked with the Engineering sub-contractors to undertake an Energy Model Report to optimize energy performance;
• In the Fall, an external cost consultant will complete work to determine potential cost savings and provide a pre-tender cost estimate for the facility;
• The lot has been cleared for construction, and the Town has undertaken topographical surveys as well as geo-technical surveys to finalize the building location and soil quality prior to preparing a tender package.

Sustainability and environmental performance has been a top priority for the Town in constructing this Facility, recognizing that it is intended to serve the needs of the Town into the future. In fact, the Town designed the building with the intent to make it net-zero ready.

The Town worked with the Design Team and their sub-contractors to complete an energy model and energy simulations, identifying the most efficient energy options, primarily related to the heating system within the building.

The results of this report are why the Town is intending to construct an ICF building with a geo-thermal heating system. The energy model report identified these, amongst other environmental savings, as being 58% better in terms of energy performance compared to standard construction. This alone means an anticipated annual savings of $30,000 in operational costs.

The Station has been designed to serve the needs of the Town well into the future. The apparatus bay consists of drive-through double bays. This will more than double the current apparatus bay space available. In addition to this, the Town has provided significant storage and future-use space in a second-floor mezzanine of the Facility. On the land itself, the Town is reserving ample space for future amenities such as detached storage, etc. that may be required into the future.