A new Port Moody fire hall got a step closer to reality Tuesday with city council's approval of a phased borrowing plan for the $11-million project.
The city will borrow $6 million through a Municipal Finance Authority bond issue this spring for construction of the three-storey, 20,000-square-foot LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design) Silver building on Knowle Street.
Acting city manager Colleen Rohde said $2 million in reserves will be used to begin design and geotechnical work this fall, with the city borrowing another $3 million once final costs are in.
The hope is that the city may be able to reduce the amounted needed from the $9-million borrowing limit set by council as costs are known and early site preparation risks have passed. One big concern, according to a design brief approved by council Tuesday, is the unknown ground conditions of the Knowle Street property and the city won't know more until geotechnical, environmental and archeological investigations are completed.
But approval of the phased funding will allow the city to select an architect and award the contract, Rohde said, possibly as early as next month. The city is also looking for a project manager.
The design brief approved by council sets out the scope of the project, which will be a post-disaster structure with space for equipment, firefighters' quarters, administration and training, and is supposed to last 50 years. The building will also be twice as large as the current building and slightly larger than some halls in neighbouring cities.
Still, some financial juggling will have to take place to accommodate construction costs. In a related bylaw, council updated its 2011 financial plan to meet requirements of the Municipal Financing Authority and several changes were noted. For one, an assessment appeal of the Mill and Timber property to $15 million from $20 million cut into reserves by $279,700, leaving only $235,300. To make up the difference and cover associated costs, plans to remediate the Barnet Landfill have been scaled back by $1 million, leaving $1.3 million to fund that work.
It's anticipated that the borrowing costs for the $11 million fire hall project will be $361,000 in 3012 and $541,00 from 2013 to 2015.
For more information about project details and the finance plan, visit www.cityofportmoody.ca and look for the Sept. 13 agenda under "city hall business."
