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New fire station to be built on current site CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer A decision has finally been made to locate the new $2.5 million headquarters fire station on the current Georgetown fire station site on Maple Ave. Council voted on the matter at Monday's council meeting. They also gave staff direction to begin property negotiations for a second $1.2 million Georgetown satellite station somewhere in Georgetown South. Fire Chief Bob Meads said the plan is to build the two stations concurrently, but that will depend on the architect and contractor. His expectation is that an architect will be hired by early 2007 with construction beginning in the late spring or early summer. Meads said the Maple Ave. fire station would stay fully operational while the new building is under construction. "I think council made a very good decision, and of the options that were put forward to them, it's the one I would have chosen had I been in their position," the fire chief said. "I think it's certainly in the best interest of the community." Moya Johnson, chair of the Fire Services & Emergency Plan Committee, said a consultant was hired to survey sites in central Georgetown to find the best location for the new headquarters building based on response times. Among the sites selected were the current location, Gary Allan High School on Maple Ave. and Guelph St., land beside the Civic Centre and Cedarvale Park. Johnson said, the Civic Centre site was eliminated due to longer response times and Cedarvale Park was eliminated due to geographical issues (the hilly entrance for example) and a reluctance to build in the well-used park. See FIRE, pg. 5 Waiting on Winners It's been said the early bird catches the worm and Angela Berlingieri (left) and Stephanie Critch were no exception as they arrived at the new Winners HomeSense store in Georgetown Market Place with children Sierra Cameron (left, front), 7, and her brother Austin, 6, at 6:30 a.m. Thursday to be first in line to enter the brand new store when it opened at 9:30 a.m. The first 100 customers entering the store were presented with gift cards, ranging in value from $5 to $100, randomly handed out. Several hundred braved the cool, early morning temperatures to take advantage of opening day bargains. Photo by Ted Brown