‘Public is riled’ over fire station closure
Citizens, chief lobby council to keep Greenwich operational
Kings County council has received a verbal lashing by residents upset over a decision to close the Greenwich Fire Department — and there's more to come.
Because of limited seating
restrictions, due to COVID-19 not all members of the public who wish to speak had an opportunity to do so. Because of this, a special Kings County council session is planned for March 8.
Council heard from 10
session, speakers at the March 1 including Greenwich Fire Chief Jason Ripley.
All spoke in favour of reversing an agreement reached by the County of Kings, the Town of Wolfville and the Greenwich Fire Commission that would result in the closure of the Greenwich Fire Department.
The agreement was formalized following a Feb. 22 incamera meeting.
As things stand, the area currently served by Greenwich will be absorbed by the Wolfville Fire Department as of April 1.
A study completed by fire services consulting firm Emergency Management & Training Inc. (EM&T) recommended that the two fire districts be combined to address service duplications relating to overlaps in coverage.
Bernie Young, who owns property in Greenwich, said part of his consideration when purchasing his future retirement home was the location of the fire hall.
He said council's arrival at a decision without public consultation suggests that what the public wants doesn't matter.
“It suggests that whatever you decide, you can survive it politically. I'm here to suggest that might not be the case,” Young said.
planning He said whatever process was at play with council's decision isn't clear to the public, “and the public is riled.”
Young said the job of consulting firm EM&T is to identify redundancy.
On the other hand, the essence of the fire service is to value redundancy or “layers of protection.”
He said the fact that Greenwich has four to five times the service levels needed to provide the required coverage compared to National Fire Protection Association standards is something the people of Greenwich are proud of — it's “a bragging point.”
“We have levels of protection unheard of, and at what cost? Very little. It's peanuts,” Young said.
Through the Greenwich Fire Commission, the Greenwich Fire Department was approved for $170,670 in municipal operational funding for 2021-2022.
Gladys Long of Sunken Lake said she can't believe that this has happened.
“It makes no sense to close a department that provides the level of service the Greenwich Fire Department has done for years,” Long said.
Long said it's “critical” to provide prompt, capable service to the area's businesses, farms and growing population.
She questioned the decision making process, pointing out that there was no consultation with the public or polling of affected area businesses. The matter was never put on a public council agenda for discussion and the public had no opportunity to speak.
“The chief of the Greenwich Fire Department was never consulted about closure. He was presented with the matter as a fait accompli,” Long said.
She said the speed in which the decision was arrived at isn't seen “unless there is an ulterior motive afoot.”
Former Greenwich Fire Chief Randy Schofield, who has served with the department for three decades, shared some highlights of the department's 89-year history.
It was four major farmers who decided in 1933 that a fire department was needed in Greenwich. The hall moved from Greenwich Crossing in 1963 to a piece of donated land where it's currently located.
Schofield pointed out that some department members used their personal homes as collateral to help finance necessary additions to the fire hall over the years.
“It's more than just a building, Mr. Mayor,” Schofield said. “There's people past and present, people that have passed on, future members that are going to join, and they come to Greenwich for a reason.”
Schofield said that Greenwich
is open to an amalgamation with Wolfville. He pointed out that Greenwich's station sits on four acres of land.
“Maybe you just need to build a fire hall for Greenwich, and we'll take care of Wolfville,” Schofield said.
Loretta Buchanan of Deep Hollow Road urged council to be transparent, as the citizens of Kings County are “done with hidden agendas.”
She has “utmost disappointment” in the process council initiated. Buchanan said the consultant's report has “gaping holes” and “not enough information.”
“All the way through the report, it alludes to stakeholder consultations. What is their definition of stakeholder consultations?” Buchanan asked.
In this instance, she said, it should include the fire departments and those people who contribute to the tax base. She said major farms and businesses in the Greenwich fire district weren't consulted and there were no public meetings to gather input from residents.
Buchanan pointed out that this was also the case in Wolfville, with no chance for that town's residents, businesses or Acadia University to give input. The current plan is to build one new fire hall located outside of Wolfville's downtown core to serve both the Greenwich and Wolfville fire districts.
“For now, I see no alternative but to leave Greenwich Fire Department fully intact and operational,” Buchanan said. “Proper public consultation must take place.”
Greenwich's fire chief showed council a photo of the department's 39 members, including 11 female firefighters, four of which hold officer positions.
He said the department represents one of the youngest and most diverse fire services in the county. Referring to it as “just a building” minimizes the service of the members and the many people who contributed to and built the department over the years.
“This is far from just a building. When you look at this picture, I hope that nobody can see the building behind these people. It's more than that,” Ripley said.
He said that the department should be kept operating at least until a new hall can be built so that there is no question in the community about a gap in response times and no gap in insurance coverage for property owners.
He pointed out that a transition co-ordinator hired by the municipality could help work toward an amalgamation of Greenwich with the Wolfville or Port Williams fire departments in the interim.
Although Ripley said there have been some issues, he believes that the current governance model involving the Greenwich Fire Commission has worked well overall since the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). He suggested extending the MOU for fire service delivery beyond March 31.