By Mark Squibb/December 2, 2022
The Town of Witless Bay is one step closer to starting work on a new regional fire hall.
Council last week requested approval from the Minister of Municipal Affairs to borrow $279,322 at a rate of 4.75 per cent to cover the HST cost of the new station.
“This is a requirement from the Province,” explained councillor Ralph Carey, who put forward the motion. “So, what we’re doing is taking out a one-year loan to pay the HST.”
Council will be requesting the loan from the Community Credit Union in Witless Bay.
Talk of the new regional station began in 2020 during preparation of the 2021 budget. In Budget 2021, council committed close to a million dollars over the next 10 years for the building of a new regional fire hall.
A funding application was submitted by the Town in 2021, was approved by the provincial government and submitted back to the newly elected council for approval this past summer.
That funding agreement would see the Town pay roughly $815,640 for a new $3 million building.
The new council at first deferred accepting the funding deal so it could consider the financial implications but eventually entered into an agreement with the Province.
Currently, the fire hall in located in a section of the town’s municipal building.
