The Citizen, 2015-01-15, Page 17THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015. PAGE 17.
Ambulance station RFP raises numerous questions
Huron East Council is concerned
that a request for proposals (RFP)
for a new ambulance base in
Seaforth is being rushed by Huron
County.
At Huron East Council’s Jan. 6
meeting, Chief Administrative
Officer Brad Knight said it was late
the previous Friday afternoon when
he first discovered that the RFP had
been issued on the county’s website.
As of the time of the meeting, he
said, Huron East had still not been
formally notified of the RFP’s
existence (it had actually been issued
in mid-December).
The new facility, the RFP states,
will feature three bays and be just
under 4,500 square feet. It is
expected to cost approximately $1
million.
This proposal, Knight said, would
make the facility slightly larger than
the current base in Tuckersmith,
which the proposed Seaforth base,
along with another base proposed
for Clinton, will be replacing.
Knight explained that council had
hoped to potentially partner with the
county on the project, which had
been discussed previously by Huron
East Council. He told councillors
that the deadline for questions or
concerns is Jan. 16 and the deadline
for proposals is Jan. 30.
His main concern, he told council,
is the concept of a design-build,
which is what the RFP states.
Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he
had a “big problem” with how the
whole RFP process happened. He
said he had some serious concerns
and that he would seek answers at
the upcoming meeting of Huron
County Council at its next meeting
(the meeting was scheduled for the
next day, Wednesday, Jan. 7, but due
to weather, was moved to
Wednesday, Jan. 14).
“Something doesn’t smell right
with this whole deal,” MacLellan
said to his fellow councillors, adding
that he didn’t see the process as an
“appropriate course of action” for
the project.
MacLellan also said he saw no
need for the county to “reinvent the
wheel” in terms of issuing a request
for a design-build. He said there
were current drawings available to
the county that could easily be used
for both the proposed Seaforth and
Clinton locations, but that the county
seemed to have no interest in them,
which was evident with the issuing
of a design-build RFP.
The plans had been designed by
Marklevitz Architects out of
Stratford and were first issued for
the new ambulance station in
Wingham, Knight said.
Another aspect of the whole
situation that MacLellan didn’t like
was the closing of one station that
served both the Huron East and
Central Huron communities in
favour of two that would service the
same area, especially when one of
the two is expected to be slightly
larger than the station it’s replacing.
That math, he said, simply didn’t
make sense to him.
Knight told councillors that there
had been some discussion of placing
the ambulance station at the rear of
Seaforth’s town hall, so the issuing
of the RFP by the county had
completely taken Huron East staff
by surprise. He also said that the
Seaforth Community Development
Trust had been looking into the
possibility of developing property
for the site, but was unsure as to
where that process was at the time of
the meeting.
He said that Huron East couldn’t
go much further with the project in
its current state, but MacLellan
pledged to get to the bottom of it at
the county level as soon as he
could.
Water tower debated
Business Directory
Affordable
CAR AND TRUCK
RENTALS
Large & Small Trucks
fridge carts - piano dollys-
moving blankets
Complete Selection of Cars
Our rates qualify for
insurance replacement
Passenger Vans
full size or mini
GODERICH TOYOTA
344 Huron Rd. 519-524-9381
GODERICH 1-800-338-1134
NEW CONSTRUCTION
AGRICULTURAL
RENOVATIONS
RESIDENTIAL
Call 519-527-1538
Tarion Home Warranty Builders
JAMES BROWN PHARMACY
198 Josephine St., Wingham, Ont.
519-357-1629
Hours: Mon. - Fri. 9 - 6 Sat. 9 - 4
Rear Parking Available
Delivery
available
- COMPLETE MECHANICAL SERVICE -
COMPUTERIZED TUNE-UPS - TIRES - BRAKES
MUFFLERS - VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION
DAN'S AUTO REPAIR
Owned and Operated by Dan & Heather Snell
RR 3, Blyth, Ont. N0M 1H0
(on the Westfield Rd.)
DAN SNELL, Automotive Technician
519-523-4356
BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0
Phone: 519-523-4481
Fax: 519-523-9189
MEMBER OF ORR INSURANCE HURON INC.
PAUL COOK
ELECTRIC
Home, Farm &
Commercial Wiring
BELGRAVE
519-357-1537
Call 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 to book your spot today!
We have solutions for
your storage needs.
Great for home, office &
business.
Ask for Ken at
LAKESIDE
519-524-1740
Storage
Solutions
In stock used Pallet
Racking, used decking
steel & 4'x8' T&G fir plywood.
Ontario CraneRentals
Box 134, Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0
519-392-6469 Cell: 519-357-7869
1-866-392-6469
Fax: 519-392-8135
Email: ontariocrane@wightman.ca
24 Hour Service ~ Merv ~ Fully Insured
BROWN’S PHARMASAVE
Linda M. Bross, CPA, CA 519-357-3231
lbross@bdo.ca Wingham, ON
D. C. Craig
Excavating
• Excavating
• Bulldozing
• Septic Systems
• Drainage
519-523-4966
Mechanical Repair
& Used Car Sales
30 Ontario St., Clinton
519-482-8439
Email: aandt@bellnet.ca
P.O. Box 69
470 Turnberry Street
Brussels, ON N0G 1H0
(519) 887-6100
Fax: (519) 887-6109
email:dsholdice@orrinsurance.net
Scott McDonald
General Carpenter
Fully Licensed Carpenter
Over 10 Years Experience!
42475 Moncrieff Rd.,
R.R. #2 Blyth, ON N0M 1H0
519.955.1215
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
The Blyth Business Improvement
Area (BIA), at its Jan. 7 meeting,
was told by organization secretary
John Stewart that Richard Snell,
owner of Bainton’s Old Mill in
downtown Blyth, was looking to
either sell or dismantle the water
tower he owns, which is adjacent to
the Greenway Trail.
Stewart explained the water tower,
which is on land rented from the
former Canadian Pacific Railway,
had been discussed by the Village of
Blyth years ago when he was clerk
for the town, and the price, at the
time, of rehabilitating and painting
the water tower was prohibitive, so
council had decided not to get
involved with it at that time.
The integrity of the structure,
which is over 100 years old, was
also questioned.
The BIA will bring the issue back
at its February meeting. Information
regarding the tower had also been
sent to North Huron, Stewart
reported.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen