West Perth Council have accepted a tender to construct a new fire hall in Mitchell.
Mayor Walter Mackenzie says a few months ago, council and staff began discussing the need for a new hall, with the old one dating back to the 1960s. That has caused issues with not only aging facilities but less spacious ones, too.
"The last truck that we purchased just barely fits in the fire hall. There's not enough room to even walk in front of or behind it. So the decision was made that we did need to upgrade our fire hall."
The tender was awarded to Domm Construction Limited for just over $1.72 million, with work to prepare the site not to exceed just over $654,000. Mayor Mackenzie says the new hall will be built not far from the current one.
"The new hall will be built on municipal property, basically just east of where the current fire hall is. So, it won't disrupt any services for fire protection."
In terms of a start date, Mayor Mackenzie said the project should be underway shortly.
"We're hoping that the project will start by the 1st of May, and they've told us 32 weeks, so if everything goes as planned, they should be in the new hall by the end of the year."
The new West Perth Mitchell fire hall is being funded through West Perth reserves and debt financing through the province. Council accepted the tender at the March 2 council meeting.