Halifax councillors look for ways to add fire station, library upgrades to budget

Halifax Regional Municipality councillors are looking for ways to fund key firefighting and library services they say would improve public safety.

On Wednesday, the city's budget committee debated this year's $317-million draft capital budget, which covers municipal roads, buildings and other assets.

Councillors questioned the timeline for a long-awaited fire station in Bedford West, saying the current plan to start construction in 2026 will be too late.

"The reality is that at some point something's going to happen, and we are going to be left with realising 'Well, we probably should have spent the money. We probably should have prioritised public safety,'" Coun. Pamela Lovelace said.

She added the station is badly needed to serve the "massive density" and recent growth in Bedford area. 

Lovelace noted the municipality has already started working on the project, including buying the required land near the BMO Centre on Symonds Road.

Halifax Fire Chief Ken Stuebing told the committee that the project — which is a combined station and new headquarters — would be an "anchor" for the Bedford, Hammonds Plains and Sackville areas.

"It would provide … emergency response targets that we can't currently hit for that area," Stuebing said.

The chief said meeting those targets is a struggle across the municipality. Only urban Halifax and Dartmouth residents have the required service needed to guarantee a fire truck will arrive within five minutes of an emergency call.

The project would cost $40 million, according to budget documents. But Lovelace asked staff for more details on the impact of funding the station this year, including spending less to get the station built before adding the headquarters.

Councillor looks for Bedford library solution

The committee also got more details on major, multi-year projects like the Mill Cove ferry service, which would see a new link between Bedford and Halifax. There is $5 million in the budget this year to begin work at the site. The overall cost is estimated at $262.9 million between now and 2027. But staff expect more than 73 per cent of the funds will come from other levels of government.

Coun. Tim Outhit said while he understands why a possible Bedford library was taken out of the Mill Cove terminal building to cut costs, the community still needs a public library.

"It started in 1996, it was an amalgamation promise that we would have a new library in Bedford. And no other district, to my knowledge, has quadrupled in population since amalgamation," Outhit said.

Outhit acknowledged the Mill Cove project is not a done deal and asked staff to report on ways to get a ferry terminal library back into the budget within the next two years.

Coun. Sam Austin of Dartmouth said he's seen first-hand how libraries give people experiencing homelessness a warm place to go for the day, where they can also meet social workers or get other services.

The aging Halifax North Memorial Public Library on Gottingen Street is also very important to the African Nova Scotian community — and it has been busier than it was before the pandemic, said Halifax Public Libraries CEO Åsa Kachan. But it is dealing with a long list of issues, including a leaky roof.

"This is an urgent, urgent need from a public safety perspective…. We're at risk of it closing every day," Kachan told the committee.

"Gentrification in that neighbourhood means public space that is accessible to all is of paramount importance."

Staff told the committee they adjusted the budget to meet council's direction for a four per cent increase in municipal taxes.

The budget debate will continue on Friday. Whatever the committee decides will then go to regional council for approval.