Don't ask me to destroy community assets for savings that barely move the needle.

I've spent my career in business. If someone walked into my office and proposed selling assets, demolishing buildings, reducing services, and changing communities to save less than 1% of annual spending, I'd be asking a lot more questions.

My question is whether we're chasing nickels and dimes while risking assets that took generations to build. I've looked at the numbers, and I don't buy it.

Before I get into my questions, I want to be clear about something.

I support a new Fire Hall and EMS facility for St. Williams. The existing fire hall has reached the end of its useful life, and emergency services deserve modern facilities instead of an old police station.

I also recognize that County staff and Finance are trying to be responsible with taxpayer dollars.

That is their job.

My questions are not directed at staff.

They are directed at some of the assumptions contained in the consultant's Facilities Master Plan.

One thing that immediately stood out to me was that the entire Facilities Strategy is projected to save Norfolk County approximately $8.6 million over ten years. That sounds like a large number until you put it into context.

Norfolk County's annual levy is approximately $146 million. The projected savings work out to roughly $860,000 per year — less than 1% of annual spending.

As someone who has spent years buying, renovating, selling and developing property, I have a hard time accepting the idea that we should be demolishing community assets, selling public lands, and reducing community space to chase savings that amount to pennies on the dollar in the overall municipal budget.

The report itself identifies the sale of the parking lot as a major contributor to the financial case for the project with a projected sale value of $1.575 million, I'd like to understand what appraisal, market analysis, planning review, or development study supports that figure. I own several properties in St Williams. I know local property values.

The St. Williams Community Centre was built in 1996, completed in 1997, is listed in good condition, and remains an important gathering place for the community.

If we're going to consider losing assets like that, the numbers need to be rock solid.

That's why several assumptions in the consultant's report caught my attention and why I believe they deserve a much closer look.

I've never subscribed to the idea that raising prices automatically generates more revenue. When community halls become too expensive for family gatherings, local organizations, and community groups, people simply stop booking them. That helps nobody and can create the false impression that a facility is underutilized.

If you price people out of using a community hall, you shouldn't be surprised when usage declines. Before low utilization is used as justification for major decisions, we should first ask whether County policies and rental rates contributed to that decline in the first place.

Norfolk County has known that several of its fire stations required replacement for years. In St. Williams, staff identified the need as far back as 2016 and included a new Station 10 in the 2019 Capital Plan with a total project budget of $1.5 million, including land acquisition, engineering, consulting and construction. In 2017, Council again received a recommendation to replace the station using the same $1.5 million budget. Nearly a decade later, the station has still not been rebuilt. Meanwhile, other stations such as Courtland and Waterford have also appeared repeatedly in capital forecasts, with project costs steadily increasing as construction is delayed. What once could have been built for roughly $1.5 million is now being discussed in the $3 million-plus range. This is exactly why capital delivery matters. Delaying needed projects doesn't save taxpayers money—it often results in taxpayers paying more for the same building years later.

Instead of

Lots of reports.
Lots of projects.
Council needs to say: "Here's what Norfolk should look like 20 years from now."

The principles:

Emergency Services 2040

  • Modern facilities for firefighters and paramedics.
  • No station left operating in unsafe or obsolete conditions.
  • Simcoe as Fire Service headquarters.
  • Delhi as EMS operations headquarters.
  • Local stations designed around service requirements, not politics.
  • Joint Fire/EMS facilities where it makes operational and financial sense.
  • Long-term capital planning to avoid decade-long delays and cost escalation.
  • Build once, build right.

Emergency Services Vision

Norfolk County requires a long-term Emergency Services Strategy that looks beyond individual fire halls and considers the entire network. Fire, EMS, facilities, equipment, training, administration, and response coverage should be planned together. Simcoe should be evaluated as the long-term headquarters for Fire Services, while Delhi should be evaluated as the long-term headquarters for EMS operations due to its central location within the County. Local stations such as St. Williams, Waterford, Courtland, Port Rowan, Vittoria, Fairground and Teeterville should continue to provide frontline response coverage, but facilities should be designed around operational requirements and future growth. Norfolk County has known for years that several stations require replacement. Delaying projects only increases costs and creates uncertainty for firefighters, paramedics, and residents. A long-term plan should identify what facilities are needed, where they should be located, and when they will be built so that taxpayers receive the best value and emergency responders have the facilities they need to serve the community.

While neighbouring municipalities move projects from reports to reality, Norfolk County continues to move them from one report to the next.

South-West Oxford (SWOX) Emergency Services Facility

The joint station built in the Township of South-West Oxford (serving the Mount Elgin/Ingersoll corridor) was approved with an all-inclusive budget of $1.5 million.

  • When it was built: The project entered its detailed design and engineering phase in late 2016, with final construction wrapped up shortly thereafter to meet updated green energy efficiency building codes.
  • Cost details: The $1.5 million price tag was strictly mandated by local council to cover everything from surveying and environmental engineering to final structural assembly.

Malahide Fire Department Station No. 4 (Lyons)

Located further south on Lyons Line, the modern Station No. 4 completely replaced a legacy 1970 South Dorchester station house that stood on the exact same footprint.

  • When it was built: The brand-new modernized facility officially opened for operational service in 2019.
  • Cost details: Similar rural, multi-bay volunteer response facilities constructed in adjacent Elgin and Oxford agricultural corridors during this period averaged between $1.2 million to $2 million depending on custom apparatus bay counts and decontamination suite sizes.