The Owen Sound Fire Hall on 3rd Avenue East. (image from building audit report to council)
Owen Sound council approved a $5.1-million budget for renovating the city’s 52-year-old fire hall.
Council passed motions during a special meeting Monday to set the capital budget for a revamp of the 3rd Avenue East building, and to ask staff for a report with terms of reference to establish a committee to keep tabs on the project.
The renovated fire hall will include an expanded apparatus bay, a decontamination area and an exercise room on the main floor. The design plan for the building update was trimmed down a bit from a previous proposal to achieve about $700,000 in savings. Council decided to remove an artifact display room and second-floor training area.
“I’m comfortable with the alternative budget. I did have concerns with extra space, because it’s just not something we can afford,” says Owen Sound Deputy Mayor Scott Greig. “It’s a nice to have. It’d be lovely to have … but it’s not the core mandate of fire services. The core mandate is community safety. I can be comfortable with the removal of that.”
Owen Sound’s fire hall was built in 1973, with an addition in 1990. A 2023 building condition assessment found the fire hall would need about $2.4-million in capital investment over five years, just to maintain its core infrastructure.
Last year, the city retained an architectural consultant for a pre-design study on renovations and a potential expansion of the fire hall. A $5.7-million plan to update and expand the facility was brought to the corporate services committee, but there were some concerns about the cost of the project.
Coun. Travis Dodd applauded staff for coming back to council with an alternative that offered some savings.
“When we have these discussions and debate about what we’re trying to do, it’s not based off challenging what you’re expertise is or what you’re trying to provide us,” Dodd says. It’s about how we’re doing it in the most cost-effective way. I appreciate what you’ve done.”
A staff report to council says the original timeline for the fire hall renovation project was to have detailed design completed this year, and construction underway in late spring 2026. But, that could be pushed back by a year due to “current projects” and staff work plans.
