The most expensive public project in Perth County’s history has hit a snag.
Presented with a $3.9-million proposal to build a new ambulance station and EMS headquarters in Stratford, county councillors voted Thursday not to accept any of the bids tendered for the project.
“After much discussion, (we) turned the resolution down,” county warden Robert Wilhelm told CTV News.
According to Perth County EMS chief Linda Rockwood, the need for a new facility has been discussed since the turn of the century.
A parcel of land on Douro Street was purchased by the county last year, and set aside for the new station.
Currently, the EMS service leases space from Stratford General Hospital for an ambulance station, and from Festival Hydro for offices.
“They’re in very cramped quarters,” said Wilhelm, who voted in favour of approving the tender.
Putting a station in Stratford’s east end will not only improve conditions for EMS employees working in Stratford, Rockwood said, but also help improve response times in Perth East – which has the longest waits for ambulance service anywhere in the county – and Perth South.
Potentially complicating matters is talk of a merger between the EMS services in Perth and Huron counties.
While talks are still at a very preliminary stage – the two sides don’t hold their first meeting exploring the possibility until next week – Rockwood says it’s something weighing on county officials’ minds as they ponder the Douro Street site.
“If Perth County is going to invest in a headquarters … then I think they would want it within their own municipality borders,” she said.
“You never know what’s going to happen 30 years down the road.”
Huron County is considering building a new EMS station in Seaforth – the same community in which many merged Huron-Perth services are based.
The issue is expected to return to county council in May.
