Mar. 5—Springfield is taking steps to build the first of three new fire stations with the aim of replacing older ones, implementing new equipment as well as investing millions of dollars into the project.
Local elected officials are considering an agreement that will lead to the design phase of a new station on South Limestone Street that will take the place of a former Wendy's location.
Springfield city commissioners are expected to vote later this month to authorize the entering into an agreement with App Architecture LLC regarding that work for an amount not to exceed $350,000.
Construction could start this fall, meaning the station could be open by late 2023, said Springfield Fire Chief Brian Miller.
The cost for construction is around $6 million with the city's portion coming from coronavirus pandemic federal relief dollars allocated through the American Rescue Plan.
The city was allocated $44.2 million in federal relief and has until 2024 to allocate that money for projects and expenditures. The deadline to spend the money is December 2026.
All three fire stations that will be built will be funded by using some of the city's American Rescue Plan allocation. The cost of each fire station project and the city's investment into those projects will range, but could be up to $5 million each.
In terms of the South Limestone location, the city plans on investing $5 million of American Rescue Plan dollars. The rest of the costs would be covered by other parties including Clark State College as it is a partner in the project.
Clark State has a fire training program and the director of that program is also a battalion chief for the Springfield Fire/Rescue division. The college is looking to have a classroom on site as well as some storage for their fire apparatus, said Miller.
"So there is an opportunity for us to share the classroom because we have educational needs in the fire (division) and they have them at Clark State. They are going to bring some money to the table, the city is going to bring some money to the table and we are going to sit down with the architect and see if we can blend both interest into one building," said Miller.
As the design process proceeds, Miller added they will have a better idea of what the new station will look like, what needs will be met by the new station as well as how much money in total will be invested, including how much Clark State wishes to spend.
"We decided that we are going to build the South Limestone station by itself because we are partnering with Clark State and the footprint will likely be different than the other stations. Also because the lot there is much smaller," Miller said.
"We will have some more flexibility with the other two stations," he added.
The other stations that are planned to be built, includes one on Burt Street as well as another on the eastside of the city, however an exact location has not been confirmed.
The idea is to have all three stations built or almost done by 2026. The new stations will replace some existing ones being used by the fire division.
The city is still determining if it's going to keep the number of stations at seven once the new stations are completed or consolidate to having a total of six stations serving Springfield.
Those changes depend on the locations of the stations as well as allocation of resources and whether the change in the total number of city fire stations would have a positive impact on services and response times.
Miller said in regards to the planned building of the three new fire stations, the city has been looking at locations that will allow the fire division to better serve residents, including decreasing run times for both ambulances and fire engines.
City officials said the new stations will also be able to accommodate new fire equipment including fire engines as well as help modernize the fire division's operations.
The average age of those stations being used by city firefighters is 56 years old, with the newest one being built was in 1981, according to Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck.
The new fire stations will not impact the number of firefighters employed by the city. The division is required to have a minimum of 127 firefighters, Miller said.
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By the numbers:
3 — number of new fire stations that the City of Springfield is looking to build
$5 million — The amount of money that the city is willing to invest in each of the new fire stations
7 — total number of fire stations currently serving the city
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