Skip to content

Council approves fire/EMS facility at old MTO site

Sault Ste. Marie City Council tonight voted to move ahead with plans to establish an emergency response centre at the former Ministry of Transportation site on Old Garden River Road.
CivicCentreVertical

Sault Ste. Marie City Council tonight voted to move ahead with plans to establish an emergency response centre at the former Ministry of Transportation site on Old Garden River Road.

The new facility will replace the Number 4 Fire Station, and will also include a central ambulance base, training facility, and storage for police and engineering vehicles and fire/emergency medical services records.

Fire Chief Lynn McCoy emphasized that he wasn't asking Council to approve the $1.5 million needed for the project at this stage.

He did get councillors to agree, however, to start the design phase of the project and to approve severing, rezoning and marketing the rest of the property to generate revenue for it.

Ward 2 Councillor Terry Sheehan tried unsuccessfully tonight to get Council to defer the decision for one year, to allow Sault College to decide whether it's interested in using the MTO site for a proposed wellness centre in which the Group Health Centre is said to be a potential partner.

Here's how your councillors voted on the new fire/EMS centre:

- James Caicco - for - Pat Mick - against - Lou Turco - against - Jody Curran - for - David Celetti - for - Jason Collins - for - Terry Sheehan - against - Steve Butland - for - Bryan Hayes - against - Frank Manzo - for - Neil DelBianco - for - Debbie Amaroso - for - Rowswell - against

Parks Canada parking and locking fees

Councillors expressed concern about the so-called "consultation" process being used by Parks Canada in an effort to gain support for its plan to impose parking and lockage fees at the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site.

"Consultation isn't the correct term for it," said Ward 2 Councillor Terry Sheehan. "It is a sales pitch."

Council accepted a report from Tourism Sault Ste. Marie opposing the plan, instead suggesting alternative revenue from special events, revamping the existing gift shop at the locks, and putting a historic tea room and travelling historic exhibits in the superintendent's house.


What's next?


If you would like to apply to become a Verified reader Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.




David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
Read more