Sauble Beach is a step closer to having its own ambulance bay.
South Bruce Peninsula council approved a letter of intent to lease part of its community medical building to Bruce County EMS at its regular meeting Tuesday (May 3).
Right now, Bruce County EMS has an ambulance temporarily stationed outside the Sauble Beach fire hall. The goal is to have a year-round station in Sauble.
A staff report says, the original idea was to build an EMS station onto the fire hall, but that proved to be too expensive, and council began to consider other options.
In 2021, the Town purchased the Sauble Beach Medical Building at 672 Main Street.
Since then, Architect G.M. Diemert has told council an ambulance bay and staff quarters can be created within the existing building, without a need for an addition.
Town staff say it will cost about half as much to renovate the Sauble Beach Medical Building as it would have to build an addition onto the fire hall. ( A comparison of around $1.2 million of $650,000)
Town staff also note, having a long-term tenant at the Sauble Beach Medical Building will secure lease funding for the Town that will help offset the building’s capital debenture costs.
The Letter of Intent is non-binding, staff note only the lease will be binding.
Once the engineering and architectural design is approved by the Town, it will need to be approved by the County, before a renovation tender goes out.
The cost of renting the space is estimated at $4,000 monthly plus HST with an annual increases of 2 per cent.
The renovation is expected to be complete this November.