Commission selects 555 Stone Ridge for Station 6 and directs city manager to propose tax increase to staff the new station

The Lawrence City Commission on Sept. 16 approved 555 Stone Ridge Drive as the selected location for the new Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical (LDCFM) Station 6 and directed the city manager to develop a future budget proposal that includes property-tax increases to support staffing for the new station. The actions passed on consecutive 5-0 votes.

City project managers and SFS Architecture presented the results of an interdepartmental site-evaluation process and a refined space program for the expansion station. The conceptual program was reduced from an initial ~16,000 square-foot proposal to roughly 13,000 square feet by trimming some training and office spaces and changing from a three-bay to a two-bay apparatus layout while retaining the ability to accommodate a third bay through later site work if needed. The project team emphasized health-and-safety design features, including a "red/yellow/green" hazard zoning concept to physically separate apparatus and contaminated areas from living and sleeping spaces, gender-neutral…