TRURO - Discussions on a possible emergency dispatch headquarters at the old Truro fire hall have been put on the back burner until other pressing issues are resolved.
Truro Mayor Bill Mills told the Truro Daily News last winter that officials were in the "early stages of discussion" to make the second floor of the old fire hall on Young Street into a dispatch headquarters to streamline fire, police and public works services.
On Thursday, the mayor said nothing new has happened with the concept. Mills said there were a few reasons for the delay.
"Everything is contingent on budgets, and we are starting budget deliberations (yesterday). We were trying to get the Normal College issue resolved and dealing with regional development agencies and now the first issue of importance is the library ... everything continues to be in a flux of change," said Mills.
He expects the town and Colchester County "to sign off" on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enter into request for proposals (RFPS) for the library project. Mills hopes to have the MOU within a week, which means RFPs could potentially go out in the spring.
"The MOU (suggests) we will look at anything that provides square footage" needed for a new library, said Mills, adding it could be September before RFPs are back and recommendations are ready.
"I'm quite optimistic ... with 99 per cent assurity we will sign off on the MOU (soon)," said Mills.
The mayor has voiced his support of using the old Normal College as a replacement site for the library.
"I have seen what we can do with old buildings. It can be done," he said. But ultimately, Mills said yesterday, it's just a matter of completing the library relocation project.
"I'm at the point of let's get this done."
It was a year ago that Mills said if a decision was not made on the library's new site early last year that council would still be looking at the situation in 2013.
mchiasson@trurodaily.com
