M.D. upgrading Grassy fire hall

The Municipal District of Taber has agreed to make $100,000 in upgrades to the Grassy Lake Fire Hall, with the possibility of more money coming in the future.

Rudy Unger appeared as a delegation before council at their regular meeting on Feb. 25. Unger is also a member of the Grassy Lake Fire Department.

Prior to hearing from Unger, M.D. Reeve Brian Brewin took a moment to express his gratitude for the work being done by the Grassy Lake fire department.

“We appreciate you and the guys stepping up and providing Grassy (Lake) with fire protection,” he said. “Even if it is only in the evenings for now, it’s a big first step.”

Brewin then provided council with a brief history of the building, stating it was built around 1975 and was once the Grassy Lake town hall. He said due to the age, the building was still in reasonable shape but was beginning to degrade.

Unger said they have the option of pouring a new floor over the old floor, but as a contractor thought that was the less desirable option.

“We still wouldn’t have a base under (the floor),” he said. He added this option was not ideal because there is currently no drainage for the fire trucks, especially the pumper truck. Additionally, the floor has no foundation, which should he believed should be addressed.

Instead, it was deemed a large portion of the floor should be removed and a new floor, beginning with the concrete outside the building.

“The reason we’d like to start outside is because there’s no foundation,” said Unger. “It’s a steel structure sitting on a floating slab. If we go cut the floor now, there’s nothing holding that structure together.”

The estimate for the replacement of the floor came to $53,762.63. There was some discussion about the merits of infloor heating versus radiant heating, and Unger said he was in favour of infloor heating.

Additionally, Unger provided an estimate on repairing the interior metal in the shop, including sections of the roof, in order to replace some old plywood which is currently in place. The estimate on those repairs came to $37,718.43.

“The roof metal is starting to rust,” he said.

It was agreed the roof could possibly wait until next year, but Unger admitted there were some leak issues which should be addressed in the meantime.

The vehicles might have to be stored off-site while work was being done, and Unger said it might take three weeks before they could be put back into the building. Unger said once the repairs are made, the building would be good for years of use.

“I think the building itself is good,” he said. “If we do this, we could use it for many years.”

The repairs have been deemed necessary, as finding a new building of similar size and dimensions would likely cost in the range of $400,000 or more.

Following discussion, Division 4 Coun. Ben Elfring made a motion for the M.D. to spend up to $100,000 on the floor of the Grassy Lake fire hall, and that any floor, foundation, sheeting, and lighting overages be brought back to council for review; the motion carried.