The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) says it still has some work to do before getting a full picture of the potentially hefty repair and upgrade costs for area fire halls.
The SCRD’s corporate and administrative services committee heard Feb. 25 that facility audit reports done by Ameresco Asset Planning in 2015 may not tell the whole story.
The audits looked at six SCRD fire halls in Gibsons, Roberts Creek, Halfmoon Bay and Egmont. They focused on the condition of what’s known as “core building elements,” in particular the roof and exterior building envelope.
According to the reports, the Roberts Creek fire hall will be the most expensive to repair. The estimate came in at $337,172 for work needed in the next five years, and there are some big-dollar items tagged for immediate attention, or completion in the next one to three years. Those include roofing and work on walls and floors.
The single costliest repair, replacing wiring in the building, is on the list of work the consultants recommend doing in the next four to five years. The estimate is $110,544
“It’s certainly an eye-opening figure in Roberts Creek,” said Area D director Mark Lebbell.
Next on the list is Gibsons, which is looking at an estimated $105,900 in work for both the main hall on North Road and Cliff Mahlman hall.
The report said Halfmoon Bay VFD’s two halls will need around $94,500 in repairs and upgrades.
Not surprisingly, the newest fire hall, Egmont, is in the best shape. The audit there identified only $1,000 in needed repairs.
The committee also heard the estimates in the Ameresco audits are just the beginning.
SCRD treasurer Tina Perrault said, “Staff are still working on doing a further review, internally, because some of these facility audits may have missed a few things.”
Perrault explained that’s often a consequence of not knowing all the problems that have been identified in the past. She gave the example of the main fire hall in Gibsons, where the audit team spotted issues with the exterior of the building, but didn’t note whether there was a history of water damage or mould as a result.
The plan is to take care of minor items in 2016, and get full cost estimates for the other urgent work as soon as possible.
The money would come out of specific reserves tied to each fire protection area.
The SCRD plans to track the other problems identified in the audits through regular inspections, and using a new asset management software system.
The SCRD recently got $412,831 federal gas tax grant to help cover the cost of implementing that software system.
