County abandons building new Beeton ambulance station on depot site

New Tecumseth Free Press October 30, 2012 

Simcoe County’s original plan to build a new ambulance station at the soon to be vacated County works yard at Main and Patterson in Beeton, has been shelved because of costs associated with site remediation and municipal requirements.

The County’s draft 2013 budget, which was tabled this morning in Midhurst at a committee of the whole meeting, includes $1.23 million for property purchase in Beeton. There is a carryover from 2012 of $880,000, and an additional $338,600 added in 2013. A combination of Development charges, and contributions from Barrie and Orillia – paramedic services are a true County service including the separated cities – leaves a shortfall of $80,382 as an impact on the 2013 bottom line.

“The existing County property (soon to be vacated County Roads yard) was investigated however represents considerable costs due to property remediation and town related matters for the entire parcel,” according to the budget package. “Therefore the purchase of alternative land is being requested. Ministry certification criteria specify Paramedic units are to be parked inside and protected from environmental extremes. Pursuant to the consultant’s report and the approved Paramedic Services Strategic Facility Plan, a County owned, purpose built, facility will yield the highest long term financial and operational performance. … The construction of this facility in 2013 is consistent with this plan.”

Already behind schedule – it’s a third year carryover project – further delays will mean “the local emergency coverage in Beeton may be affected as there is no appropriate facility in the Beeton area and staff will need to continue cycling to and from another paramedic station (Alliston) at end of their shift. Furthermore, County Paramedic units will continue to be unsheltered from the elements which may result in longer idling times to maintain safe operational readiness.”

The other carryover situation involves building a new station in Alliston, an estimated $2.1 million project. It is expected that the new facility will adjoin the OPP headquarters on Cty Rd 10, immediately south of Hwy 89.

“Staff has been searching for property in the area and recommend purchasing land, designing and building the facility in 2013,” according to the budget. “The condition of the current leased building (Conc. 7 – Ernie Dean Drive) (lease expires March 2015) is less than ideal due to the following:

There have been some structural issues with the leased property which at this point have been repaired, however major issues and costly repairs continue to occur.

The current garage size does not accommodate the standard ambulance size.

The station is not in the correct location for call demand.

“If this project does not move forward in 2013, an ongoing requirement to further invest funds into a leased substandard structure which is not appropriately located in relation to identified call demand will occur.”