The proposed fire hall in Dead Man’s Flats may have gone up in smoke after discussions came to a halt.
River’s Bend Development has indicated it’s in the MD of Bighorn’s court, whether the first-response, two bay hall “becomes a reality or not,” while Bighorn administration will stand tall with its initial plan surrounding the matter.
On June 23, River’s Bend Development walked in and out of the MD of Bighorn’s council chambers during the finance and economic development committee meeting. River’s Bend was given the opportunity to bring forward a written statement regarding the willingness to continue lobbying for the fire hall.
The River’s Bend team requested that Exshaw fire chief Rick Lyster attend to discuss the only disputed term between the parties, which would likely be a “deal breaker” it couldn’t be negotiated.
River’s Bend proposed that Bighorn shall determine the 10-minute response radius of the fire hall in accordance with the provisions of the STANDATA, using the time trial provision set out for new subdivisions and a chute time of five minutes. STANDATA allows for an initial fire response attack and 90 per cent of the time fire crews have to meet the 10-minute response.
“We wanted the fire chief there so we could have an open discussion on that point, because without him being there we are just wasting another two weeks or month,” said Frank Kernick, River’s Bend partner and owner of Spring Creek Mountain Village.
Lyster was unable to attend due to an illness, which River’s Bend was understanding of and looked at the council meeting in July.
“If they can’t produce a fire chief to speak, then we know where this is as a priority for the MD of Bighorn and we will just move on,” Kernick said.
River’s Bend is currently developing 32 acres of land in Dead Man’s Flats into 77 residential lots, 25 condos and 15 light industrial/commercial lots. Construction of a fire hall in Dead Man’s sprung up after it was discovered the hamlet is outside an accepted 10-minute response time by Canmore Fire-Rescue. The MD has a fire contract with the Town of Canmore for existing Dead Man’s Flats infrastructure and phase one construction as well as Harvie Heights.
Without a first response fire hall in the hamlet, new construction would be required to connect firefighting infrastructure within homes, adding to their cost in the $10,000 range. The fire hall is expected to cost in the $200,000 range for the building alone, which River’s Bend has shown a willingness to construct at its expense. Kernick says they have come a long way trying to assist the MD in building it.
“We now have a design and a proposal that we think that follows the concerns of council. The issue we have is it seems to be pushed back by the CAO (chief administrative officer Martin Buckley) of the MD of Bighorn,” said Kernick. “We’re in the mindset that if it’s going to happen, it’s got to happen now, otherwise it has no benefit, the houses will be built by the time they get around to doing it and the cost will have already occurred.
“This isn’t about a fire hall, this is about community building, moving to the community and being apart of something was very important to people.”
In an initial feasibility report from March, administration stated it believes a fire hall is possible in the long run at Dead Man’s Flats, but also believes that a full understanding and careful planning is required, such as a full study by a qualified, unbiased consultant before fully committing to establishing a new level of expenditure and service.
“Right now there’s no proposal in front of us. (River’s Bend) withdrew it the other day is my understanding, but no, I don’t know what (Lyster) could contribute to the discussions … if they resubmit, that’s up to them,” Buckley said.
MD of Bighorn Reeve Dene Cooper said the process that started at the beginning of 2015 has been unable to produce a clear, written understanding between all of the parties involved.
“We just can’t get any wind in the sails to get a sense of direction. Steering has no meaning without momentum and we didn’t get any more (on June 23) and I feel a bit unsettled about that,” Cooper said.
