A proposal to construct a new fire hall in Ste. Agathe is gaining momentum. The council of the RM of Ritchot, at its October 4 meeting, will consider a proposal to borrow $2.5 million to pay for the construction of the fire hall and the purchase of a fire truck, plus associated firefighting equipment and training. The loan would be repaid over a period of 20 years.
Jackie Smith, Ritchot’s mayor, says a public meeting about the fire hall on September 14 demonstrated support for the project. “The feedback from the CAO is that there were no objections,” says Smith. “Before we go to the effort, we had to make sure people were happy being asked to fund it.”
Smith says plans for the fire hall have been in the works for a while. Meetings were held last winter for the purpose of recruiting volunteer firefighters, and the response was encouraging.
“We are looking for about 15 to 20 volunteers per hall,” says Smith, while adding that bigger numbers are needed because many volunteers may work in the city and have trouble responding quickly. “We need to know enough people will show up for calls.”
Smith says the new fire hall is just a matter of meeting the evolving needs of the municipality. “The town has expanded. The industrial park has expanded and there are plans to expand it further. We have two grain terminals. We have the hemp oil facility. We have to make sure we are able to respond timely and efficiently for our ratepayers.”
Before plans can go ahead, the proposed borrowing bylaw will have to pass three readings. Once approved, however, most of the plans are in place to move quickly.
The new fire hall will be built on municipal land north of Highway 305 and east of the service road on the west edge of Ste. Agathe.
For Smith, there’s reason for optimism that the new fire hall could be up and running by the end of next year. “We have the land. We have an idea of the building we want. It sounds like we are going ahead. Now it’s just the red tape.”
The RM of Ritchot currently has two fire halls in operation, one in St Adolphe and one in Île-des-Chênes.
