Community Centre & Fire Hall

How you can donate

• CanadaHelps (credit card payments with automatic tax receipts)
• Pay a visit to Town Hall (131 Commercial Street - 10am- 4pm - Monday - Friday)
• Organize an event on behalf of the firehall
• Support Fire Department Events
• Please take a look at these Sponsorship Opportunties, including Naming Rights.
• Support the weekly MFD 50/50 campaign

YOUR DONATION WILL GO A LONG WAY

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Community Centre and Fire Hall project?

The Town of Middleton and Middleton Area Fire Department are working in partnership to build a 13,000 sq.ft. building, that will house a new Community Centre and Fire Hall.

2. What will be included in the Community Centre and will it be available to rent?

The Community Centre will consist of a large community room that will provide banquet seating for at least 120 people. The room may also be divided into two smaller rooms for community rentals. Renters would also have access to an industrial kitchen and canteen.

The space will be used for recreation programs, meetings, special events such weddings and receptions, training, etc.

3. How is the project being funded?

The project is estimated to cost $3.9 m.

The Town of Middleton has committed $650,000 towards building the Community Centre. The Fire Department has committed $100,000, with an additional $100,000 coming from the Annapolis County Fire Services Capital Grant.

The Town hopes to secure funding for the overall building structure through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), that would provide $1.03 million in Federal funding and $855,000 Provincial.

Unfortunately, there are no funding programs available that cover the capital costs of building a Fire Hall. Therefore, we need the communities help to raise $1.4 million dollars to complete the Fire Hall portion of the project.

4. Why do we need a new Fire Hall?

Middleton’s current fire hall was built in 1950, with an addition added to the entire length of the north end in the late 1970’s. In 2015, a Facility Assessment estimated that the building would require $1.7 to $2.2 million in upgrades to meet current codes and standards. These upgrades would result in a significant loss of community space due to the increases necessary to the apparatus bays to accommodate equipment.

The current apparatus bays do not provide enough space for members to put on equipment and open vehicle doors at the same time. In addition, the size of trucks are getting bigger and, unless a specialized size truck is purchased, they will not fit in the current space. Ordering specialized trucks is also more expensive.

5. What happens if you cannot raise $1.4 million?

The fundraising money would go towards capital upgrades to the current building.

6. How can we help to fundraise?

First of all, thanks for thinking of us. There are several ways to help and your imagination is the only limit. To reduce the chance of duplicating our efforts, please contact the fundraising committee to discuss your idea.

7. How will the project affect my taxes?

Operating costs for the new Community Centre and Fire Hall are expected to be an additional $25,000 to $30,000 compared to the current Fire Hall building. The costs may be offset by rental income from the old fire hall and/or rental income from the new community centre. If there is no offset revenue or other cuts to the operating budget, an additional $25,000 to $30,000 would mean an increase of 2.5 to 3 cents on the tax rate.

8. Where will the new building be located? 

The Town has purchased land directly across the street from Town Hall on Commercial Street.

9. What kind of noise can we expect at the new location?

The new building will be located directly across the street from Town Hall, not far from the current Fire Hall. So, residents should experience similar noise levels as they do today.

10. Will the new building be eco-aware?

The design for the new building will be eco-aware. The Committee is working with a team of professionals to ensure efficiencies and make the building eco-aware. We will also be consulting Efficiency Nova Scotia.

11. How do we become a volunteer firefighter?

Please contact the Contact: Mike Toole, Fire Chief
(cell) 902-825-8277
Email: mtoole@town.middleton.ns.ca

12. Will it create jobs in the community as far as contracting the job / who will build it?  

The project will be publicly tendered as required for all public entities. To learn more about the public procurement process please visit:

13. What is the project timeline for building? 

The Town hopes to start construction on the Community Centre next Spring (2020) and depending on fundraising progress Fire Hall will be completed in 2020 or 2021.

14. Will the new building have the space required for the Town's needs - training, expansion, etc.  

Yes. This was one of the objectives in designing the new complex. 

15. Has all of the homework been done? Land needs, zoning, permits, etc? 

16. Will services be interrupted during the building of the new Fire Hall?  

It is not expected that fire services will be interrupted at all, as the current firehall will remain operational until the transfer is complete.

17. Will fire service be improved with the new fire hall?  

While the fire service has always maintained a high degree of excellence, some of the new firehall features will allow them to operate more efficiently and with better tools.