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Garden earmarked for old Kaslo fire hall site

The lot where Kaslo’s fire hall once stood is expected to be turned into a garden, outdoor reading space, and home to a piece of public art.
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The lot where Kaslo’s fire hall once stood is expected to be turned into a garden, outdoor reading space, and home to a piece of public art.

Village administrator Neil Smith told 103.5 Juice FM said it followed an online poll with more than 150 responses.

Last year the village demolished its 1970s era fire hall — adjacent to the historic city hall — after the new fire hall opened next to the arena.

“Council discussed over a number of months what to do with that space for the long-term,” Smith said. “There was a range of potential options but no desire to put a new building on it.”

Several possibilities were presented on the village’s website, including a tourism kiosk and parking lot. However, the most popular option, favoured by more than half of respondents, was a garden, followed by an outdoor reading area, and a piece of art. Council has decided to combine all three.

“It wasn’t a detailed survey but council appeared to like the way those options floated to the top,” Smith said. “The feeling is although it’s not a very large space, those three ideas should be incorporated into a concept design.”

The village is now seeking a designer or landscape architect to come up with a preliminary drawing of what the space might look like. It has budgeted $1,000 for the contract, with more money expected to be allocated later.

“We have a great deal of confidence the community has individuals who could more than do the job,” Smith said.

He said the project could get underway this year, but a lot of work on the stabilization of city hall needs to be done first, so it may not begin until 2016.