Council weighs options on police station needs

April 15, 2016 · 0 Comments

In a statement released April 8, Town of Shelburne Chief Administrative Officer John Telfer announced the Police Accommodations Sub-Committee, Chaired by Councillor Wade Mills, which has been investigating options for the long term accommodations of the Shelburne Police Service, “has evaluated their needs for accommodations.”

“The sub-committee has broken the workload into three areas including Public Relations, Finance and Building Evaluation areas,” said the statement. “The sub-committee will continue to meet monthly until a report and recommendation is presented to Council.”

Reviewing the issue, Chair Wade Mills says, “In November, Council and the Police Services Board received a consultant’s report regarding the state of the existing Police Service facility in Shelburne. The report concluded that the existing facility is less than adequate and recommended possible options to upgrade or replace the facility. After some initial discussion, Council decided to create a Police Accommodation Sub-Committee to do further investigation and research into possible options.”

When the current building was constructed, “there were no Policing Adequacy ‎Standards in place with respect to our built environment,” says Chief Kent Moore.

“Unfortunately, there are aspects of our police station which challenge our ability to meet current Adequacy Standards as set by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services,” he says. “Further to this, the Town of Shelburne has more than doubled in size since the current station was built, impacting our capacity. “

Mayor Ken Bennington says he “wants to reinforce the message that the Town of Shelburne has concerns regarding the police station, not the police service or the officers providing public protection to the Town and our residents.”

Councillor Mills reports three primary options: “1) building a new facility to house the Shelburne Police Service, 2) expanding and renovating the current facility, and 3) engaging the OPP to receive a costing for their services. “

The Sub-Committee is recommending Council remove the expansion and renovation option due to “the relative costs and logistical difficulties associated with that option,” and continue to investigate the other two options.

“There are several possible sites within the Town of Shelburne that could accommodate a new facility if that option is ultimately adopted,” said Mr. Mills. “But no preferred site has been identified yet.

The cost of the project will depend on which option is selected by Council, but Mills says the facility will “clearly come at a significant cost which would likely be spread out over a number of years.”

Mayor Bennington says he is “confident that through this process, the subcommittee will have a recommendation coming forward for Town Council as we make the right decision for the Town of Shelburne.”

By Marni Walsh