Stephen Vance, Staff
Over the past 18 months the Municipality of Meaford and the Township of Georgian Bluffs have been negotiating a new agreement for the Inter-Township Fire Department (ITFD) that will see Meaford’s 25 percent ownership transferred to Georgian Bluffs, and a new fee for service agreement will be established.
Historically the ITFD has been jointly owned by the two municipalities to provide services to the area of the former Sydenham Township. ITFD was established prior to amalgamation, as a joint venture between the Townships of Sydenham, Keppel, Derby, and Sarawak. At amalgamation, the Transition Board entered into an agreement with the Township of Georgian Bluffs to provide fire services in the Township of Sydenham (by-law 2000-08), agreeing to “jointly manage and operate a fire department”. The agreement was reviewed in 2012 and 2013.
“Under the new agreement, the existing partnership will end, re-establishing ITFD as a fire department wholly owned by the Township of Georgian Bluffs. The Municipality of Meaford will enter into a fee-for-service agreement with the Township for ITFD to continue to provide fire suppression services in the western area of the Municipality,” municipal Clerk Matt Smith advised.
While initial plans had called for a transition to a fastest hall response model, at their November 2 meeting Council agreed that the current service boundaries would remain in place in the new agreement.
“This change to our agreement with the Inter-Township Fire Department allows us to keep providing the same level of service for the western residents of the Municipality, while streamlining the administration,” said Smith. “Residents will still receive the same dedicated support from the ITFD firefighters.”
The Municipality of Meaford is holding an open house about changes to the agreement between the Municipality of Meaford and the Township of Georgian Bluffs for the Inter-Township Fire Department (ITFD) on Tuesday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m. at Woodford Hall.
Staff will be on hand at the open house to answer questions and provide information about the new agreement.
As an in-person open house, the following COVID-19 measures will be in place:
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Masks must be worn in Woodford Hall
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2 meters physical distancing must be maintained at all times
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Attendee name and contact information will be required for contact tracing
For more information on the changes to the Inter-Township Fire Department agreement, visit www.meaford.ca/ITFD.
