Virgil fire hall to be sold to assist operations centre

The leaking roof and periodic flooding in basement offices, three staff working in an electrical closet and others using portable heaters in the winter are among problems plaguing employees at the operations centre building beside Niagaraon-the-Lake’s town hall in Virgil.

The town spent $1.3 million in 2014 for an addition to the operations centre, which houses public works and engineering staff. Director of operations Sheldon Randall requested Monday that the town approve a further $750,000 for repairs and renovations to the building.

He said that would alleviate overcrowding for existing staff and also accommodate the fire department’s administration staff. Randall also recommended that the old Virgil fire hall across the street, which is no longer in use, be sold to help pay for the renovations and a facilities master plan be done on all town-owned buildings at a cost of $100,000.

Council narrowly approved the renovations and repairs in a vote of five to four after a lengthy debate.

Coun. Maria Bau-Coote argued that the facilities master plan should be completed first before the town spends any more money on the operations building. She suggested that staff look for ways to create more space in existing areas to accommodate employees working in overcrowded conditions.

Chief administrative officer Milena Avramovic said the town may need to use portables to house some employees on a temporary basis and the roof will have to be fixed before winter comes.

“The roof is caving in and there are people working in an electrical room,” said Coun. Betty Disero. “There are people working in spaces that only just fit their chair and a desk. We want staff in an environment that is safe and dry.”

Disero said the town is obligated to provide comfortable and productive work spaces for its employees and voted to spend money on fixing the problems in the building now, rather than using portables and waiting for a facilities master plan to be completed.

Randall said staff have been working on a solution to the problems in the building for over a year. Last week he quoted councillors a cost of $950,000 for the repairs and renovations, but this week he said he expected it could be done for $200,000 less.

Tenders for the contracts will go out right away, but if the work goes over the budgeted amount, staff need to come back to council for further approval.

The old fire hall was declared surplus and is expected to raise about $450,000 if it is sold. Staff estimated that the facilities master plan would take six to nine months to complete.