Township of Blandford-Blenheim Council learned that the Ontario government awarded the township with the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant during its regular meeting on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.
Drew Davidson, Director of Protective Services, said that while the Township was denied the grant in previous years, he was happy to announce that the grant was officially secured.
“Earlier last year, we applied for the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant,” said Davidson. “We had done this the year before and were denied, but this year, I’m happy to announce that we were approved”
Davidson added that the grant will be used to replace the decades-old letter signs at four fire stations (Princeton, Drumbo, Bright and Plattsville) with state-of-the-art digital LED signs, and will enhance emergency communication and public engagement within the community.
“We’ll still use the posts that are in place at the fire halls, but replace the signage in between at three of the halls,” he said. “Also, in this grant, we put in that the Princeton Hall’s sign would be [entirely] new, and that was approved as well.”
While the current signs do the job, they are around a decade old and limited as far as visibility, flexibility, and efficiency. The benefits of the new LED signs will be as follows:
- Timely information-sharing: real-time updates will guarantee that information relayed during an emergency is timely and accurate.
- Efficiency: Firefighters and staff will no longer need to reset the signs manually, saving time and money.
- Visibility: LED signs are readable under all weather and light conditions and have more outreach.
- Multi-purpose use: Emergency messages are shared, and public service announcements or fire prevention tips can be incorporated into the signs as well.
“We’ll be able to upload the messages to the computers, and then all we have to do is go to the hall and email it to the stations, and then they can just send it [whatever message is needed] right out to the sign, and it’s faster that way,” said Davidson. “There was some discussion about the brightness and the effect of that in the community, but we can adjust that to tone it down or dial it up, depending on the situation.”
Davidson also explained that the total project cost, procurement, and installation are all fully covered by the grant, without any further financial burden on the municipality.
When Mayor Mark Peterson asked if they were able to re-use any of the signs in other Township areas, Davidson said the signs are officially at the end of life, and there would be no use in re-purposing them.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
