New Fire Station Update
Building for our Future
With an eye to the future, we are looking into replacing our fire station with a new state of the art facility and renovations of the Village Hall to accommodate the police, administration, and community that will serve the Village for the next 30 years. In that regard, I wish to share with residents the motives, objectives, strategy, and the process to achieve this goal.
The current Village Hall facility was designed and built thirty years ago based upon the demands of the community at that time. It was undersized in many respects and did not foresee a future where we would have both male and female firefighters and police officers. At the time of its inception, we had a volunteer fire department and no need for dormitory, exercise, training spaces, and a working kitchen. Therefore,
in 2022, under Mayor Mulcahy, we began to look at how we might renovate and expand the Village Hall facility to meet current and future needs for the Village. A plan was produced and budget estimates created. Subsequently, we engaged an architect to formalize the project and provide accurate cost estimates.
With that information, the Village considered its options and came to the realization that the money we would spend for the expansion and renovation would not adequately serve the Village. We could spend the money and find ourselves having created a “band-aid” solution. Therefore, we started to consider a more practical arrangement that would produce a new fire station and then a renovated Village Hall that moves the police facilities into the existing fire area. In deciding to take this route, we felt it essential to have a cost benefit study by the fire department both to determine the best location for a new facility and to identify the requirements for the new building.
As the Village is growing and the population center is moving northwest with many of the fire calls and all the runs to Ahuja Medical Center, a location in the area of Harvard and Brainard is a logical location. The Village was afforded an opportunity to purchase a two-acre parcel from the Western Reserve Land Conservancy at its appraised value and secure the ability to construct the facility.
With a site in place, we are now proceeding to the next steps which include: architect selection and design of both the fire station and Village Hall renovations. The process will include public input and involvement. The objective is to develop plans, calculate accurate cost estimates, establish an accurate budget plan, and determine the project delivery method. To this end, we have enlisted local architects to be considered for the projects and have evaluated their submissions. Council will interview and evaluate the firms that the review committee recommended.
In completing the steps noted, we will then be able to determine how best to finance the project and prepare a bond issue to put before the voters. We are excited to build for our future and look forward to pursuing it together.
All the Best,
Judson Kline, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Mayor