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Councillor Clyde Smith pushed for making the build- ings ‘green' up to standards set under the LEED pro- gram (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), whichYork Region has adopt- The fire hall, which was originally to be a two-storey structure, now has one floor of 16,630 square feet plus 2,100 square feet for emer- gency and medical services The new fire hall would burden taxpayers unneces- sarilywith costs of offices and rooms that are already in the Ballantrae fire hall, Mr. Ban- non said. When the idea of turn~ ing one Of the ground-floor dressing rooms into a work- out room was put before the town’s ice user groups, most wanted it kept as a dressing room, Tom Graham, director of leisure services, said. The consultants at the meeting were from Thom- as Brown Architects, who focused on the fire hall con- struction, and Shore Tilbe Irwin 8: Partners. They noted that many environmental features are already included the plans In addition to fewer seats, he's looking for more equip- ment storage space as well as a training area for athletes. It should be large enough to have space for group work- outs and training equip- ment. All skaters and hockey players have to warm up before going on the ice, he The arena would feature a metal siding and glass exte- rior with a canopy overhang- ing the entrance. The lobby would be about two feet higher than the ice surface allowing for a good view onto the rinks draw a maximum of 200 peo- ple. minor hockey president Mike Humphmys said. He adv'ocatés using the current arena on Ninth Line for lgger events. The 335 seats are up from earlier plans which showed seating of 300 for each NHL- sized rink. With standing room, seating in the lobby and a rail to lean on, about 500 spectators could be accommodated for each ice surface in the new building. User group requests have not been inauded in the cur- rent plans, Mr, Humphreys Duplication in fire halls, councillorargues The exterior would be of The fire service has to be able to send 10 firefighters to a fire scene within 10 minutes. The Newmarket and Aurora department now serves the northwest part of the municipality. However, what is inside the building has Mr. Bannon worried. The offices for the fire prevention oflicer, fire inspection officer, training room, classroom, emergency operations and other func- tions are already in the Bal- lantrae hall, which was built as a headquarters building. he said. He was also concerned about building another large hall if the fire service ever amalgamated with Central York Fire Services. Because the community of Stoufiville is on the east side of the region, “If you can't do it from Stouffville, he said, “you can’t do it from other stations.” Town CAO Dave Cash cau- tioned that if rooms had to be added later they wouldn’t necessarily be paid for by development charges. Construction 7 expenses would likely be higher for an addition, the consultant said. A clearly frustrated Mr. Emmerson said, “I don't know when this is coming back (to counciD." He maintained that the new Stouffville station didn’t need to be a headquarters and wanted to see the rooms deleted from the plans. If you don't have facilities and services that support higher level services, there will be reduced safety to the public and it will affect insur- ance rates, Mr. Powers said. Doing the project now will be a benefit to the taxpayer, Mr. Emmerson said. Other councillors raised their own doubt. Councillor Susanne Hil- ton made the motion to defer the project until staff could let council know the implica- tions of maldng changes. red brick. reflecting a' heri- tage look. There would be a tower housing the fire bell from the original Whitchurch fire station, which no longer exists. The fire service has to be able to send 10 firefighters to a fire scene within 10 min- utes, Fire Chief Chris Powers responded. WAYNE EMMERSON: Mayor unsure when arena and fire hall plans will return to council. Stoufiw'lleSun-IfibuneI'Ihwsdax Aprill7.2008 l7