Sticker Shock Over Emergency Services Campus

Barrie City Hall Asking for Ten Per Cent Cut in Facility Build Costs

A new emergency services campus is taking shape but won’t break ground anytime soon. Barrie Council got a look at a new facility that would house Barrie Police, Barrie Fire, and County of Simcoe Paramedic Services but council voted Monday night to see if the facility could be built cheaper. City staff has been told to cut the cost of the build by ten per cent, with a special council meeting expected in July to review any savings found. Right now, the proposed facility would cost about $120 million to buy the land, and design and build the facility. The decision to combine all three emergency services under one roof came in the Fall of 2013, but a proposed campus wasn’t presented to council until earlier this month. The facility as it is proposed now would come with three buildings; one to house the administrative and operations staff of all three emergency services, another would serve as a training facility, while a third would be used for vehicle maintenance.