Depot fire leaves Paradise Town Hall shuttered for months to come

By Mark Squibb

Paradise staff are working to mitigate the impact on operations following a fire on February 9 that has rendered the town hall and adjoining depot inaccessible for months to come.

Equipment stored outside the depot used for snow clearing and garbage collection can be accessed. However, equipment inside the depot at the time of the blaze remains off limits until the insurance investigation has been completed.

“The fire has resulted in limited access to some essential equipment and tools, which may affect service delivery temporarily,” said councillor Glen Carew, who brought forward a public works status report during council’s February 25 committee of the whole meeting.

Carew said snow clearing staff are acting at reduced capacity, while garbage collection is continuing as usual.

Director Nelson Whalen said crews are currently working out of the municipal salt shed, but despite the shortcomings, the town remains “in fine shape for now” regarding snow clearing.

CBS and St. Johns have each provided Paradise with a sidewalk snowblower, while Mount Pearl has allowed the Town space in its depot to complete maintenance work.

As for street repairs, sandbags have been put in place where necessary and full repairs will resume once tools and equipment become available. The Town is addressing water and sewer concerns as they arise. Staff are conducting maintenance on essential equipment only just to be prepared for winter storms.

Meanwhile, recruitment efforts for six vacant public works positions remain ongoing.

Carew added staff have been doing excellent work despite the situation and deserve to be commended.

Councillor Tommy Maher also expressed his appreciation for the Town’s public works crew.

“We had significant snowfall over the weekend, and the cleanup went really smooth, and I was very much impressed with the timely manner it was cleaned up,” said Maher. “I’ve been 25 years in snow removal and it’s not an easy task.”

Earlier in the meeting, council discussed the purchase of a new sidewalk snow blower priced at $248,578 plus HST.

Carew argued that seeing as only one of the five potential bidders who are registered with the Town submitted a bid, and that once taxes and rebates were calculated, the purchase was a couple thousand dollars overbudget, and, finally, as the Town was still uncertain as to what equipment can be salvaged from the depot fire, it would be better to hold off on buying the side walk snow blower and instead make a bulk equipment order at a later time.

“Once we know what our needs are, after the evaluation of the fire, would it be more beneficial to the Town and residents, in terms of cost, if we need more equipment, to capture that all under one tender?” asked Carew.

CAO Lisa Niblock said there was no timeframe for when items in the depot will be assessed, and the sidewalk clearer was a planned purchase that staff would like to move ahead with. Delaying the purchase, she allowed, could be a matter of delaying the inevitable.

Niblock noted that of the two recently borrowed snow blowers, one had to be returned.

Council, during the meeting, also extended the deadline for tax payments as taxpayers have not been able to pay their taxes in person with the town hall having been closed since the February 9 fire.

“While there are other options to pay, there are many taxpayers who prefer to make payments in person at the town hall for many reasons,” said councillor Larry Vaters. “The town hall will remain closed for several months, and in-person services for tax-payments at the arena will not commence until later this week.”

The current deadline was February 28, and staff recommended council extend the tax due date to March 28. Because of the change, interest will not be applied until that date.

Vaters said the move will have a minimal impact on the Town’s finances, although some interest revenue will be lost be extending the date.

Carew said several residents had approached him asking if the tax deadline would be extended. Carew said that of those residents, many didn’t realize they could pay their tax bills through their banks.

Accounting staff, meanwhile, are working from the community centre, with accounting services to be set up at the Double Ice Complex in the coming days, once certain equipment becomes available.

Meanwhile, the town hall phone line is being answered by Telelink, and staff remain available by email.