Times-Chronicle Staff
The regional district has adopted a bylaw that will facilitate an upgrade to the Willowbrook fire hall.
Last week directors authorized up to $350,000 for the upgrade from Area C’s Community Works Fund.
Last year the federal gas tax funding policy changed, adding fire halls to the list of eligible projects.
In this case, funding will be used to increase the capacity of the Willowbrook hall and increase the efficient use of energy in the facility.
The plan is to add a second floor to the existing hall and upgrade the heating and power system.
Area C director Rick Knodel calls the change to include rural fire halls for gas tax funding a “real blessing” since the upgrade won’t be a burden on the taxpayer.
He noted the Willowbrook fire hall is an old building (constructed in the 1980s) with baseboard heating. He added it can get quite congested since it has no space to expand. “It (the expansion) has been a long time coming,” Knodel said.
