Thunder Bay’s Police Services Board is preparing to ask for help funding a new headquarters for the force.
Board member Michael Power is proposing a motion for their June 15th meeting, saying they need to ask the city for that money in their 2022 budget.
“This is one of the most important decisions we as a community are going to make,” he says. “Our officers and our civilians need our support here. This is long overdue, this dates back to roughly 2009 or 2010.”
Prior to the meeting, Chair Kristen Oliver told Acadia News that the price tag for a facility is $56 million, including the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) rebate.
Powers added Tuesday that delaying the project will only make it more expensive due to cost inflation and the need to continually repair the Balmoral Street headquarters.
“It will only compromise the Chief’s ability to deliver on the strategy that we’ve asked her to deliver on, and more importantly, we compromise the health and safety of those that we serve, as well as the health and safety of our officers and our civilians,” Power argued.
The board has already told the city that their current HQ is in poor shape and doesn’t meet the force’s needs anymore.
Back on April 20 the board approved asking City Council for the build, which was pegged at roughly $55 million.
The motion was brought forward at Tuesday’s meeting, but will not be debated or voted on until June.
