By Mark Squibb
The Town of Witless Bay has requested letters of support from neighbouring communities that avail of the town’s fire and emergency services for an updated feasibility study to determine the current market cost of building and operating a new fire hall, as well as whether there are more cost-effective options available.
In 2023, council accepted $2 million in provincial government funding for construction of a new regional fire hall and agreed to pay the Town’s portion of $815,646.
That funding agreement, however, was based on a feasibility study conducted in 2019 and did not include costs for ongoing operations of a new fire hall. Town CAO Jennifer Aspell said that furthermore, there was concern that 2019 prices may not been reflective of the current market.
While the Town still has access to that funding, Aspell said the results of a new feasibility study will determine how council proceeds.
