Crofton is one step closer to getting a new fire hall.
The Municipality of North Cowichan announced that the proposed $4.8 million Crofton Fire Hall project passed the Alternative Approval Process with 0.02 per cent of eligible electors voting against it.
The Alternative Approval Process or AAP, the North Cowichan asked voters to register their opposition towards the municipality borrowing $4.8 million for the project. Under the AAP, 10 per cent of eligible voters must register their opposition in order for the municipality’s plan to borrow $4.8 million to fail.
The current Crofton fire hall was built in 1964 and, according to North Cowichan, is in “immediate need of seismic upgrades and urgent repairs, and given the cost of these repairs.”
The new fire hall would be roughly 3,600 square feet and would include training and administration space, as well as dedicated storage space for equipment, gear, and electronics. The apparatus bays, which were built in 2002, would remain intact while the rest of the existing fire hall would be torn down to make way for the new one.
“Members of North Cowichan’s Crofton fire hall have been without adequate training space since 2019 when the second floor was closed due to load bearing issues,” the municipality said in a press release.
North Cowichan councillors will now vote on whether to adopt a loan authorization bylaw for the new fire hall on Sept. 7.
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