Lebanon plans new fire station and begins long‑range study for police headquarters
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Summary
Mayor Matt Gentry said the city will break ground in September on Fire Station 13 (to house a ladder truck and a squad unit) to improve response on the west side and pursue a multi‑year study to replace the 1965 police station after a DLZ space study found it past useful life.
New fire station (Station 13) Mayor Matt Gentry said the city will break ground in September on a third fire station, Station 13, on Sam Ralston Road (near Aspire and just south of the creek). He said the city will locate the ladder truck at the new station to provide primary response to the business park and will also staff a squad vehicle for routine EMS and other runs to reduce ladder miles and maintenance. Gentry said placing the station on the west side of the railroad tracks will ‘‘fill a hole’’ in response coverage and help the city pursue an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 2 (currently ISO 3), which can lower homeowner and business insurance costs.
Police headquarters study Gentry said the existing police station, built in 1965 as a multi‑use municipal building, has exceeded its useful life. A space study conducted by DLZ, he said, concluded the facility is no longer adequate for modern police operations. The city has started a long‑range evaluation with Police Chief Morgan, touring other departments to develop requirements; Gentry said many departments recommended building a new station elsewhere and moving operations rather than renovating while occupied.
Timing and complexity Gentry said the fire station is moving forward on a near‑term schedule, but that a new police headquarters is a long‑term undertaking. He said a realistic earliest timeline for groundbreaking could be 2028 or later and emphasized the need for careful design, site selection and cost planning. The city is considering options that pair policing needs with other civic infrastructure (for example, a secured motor pool in a parking garage) but has not decided a site or final program.
Operational goals The mayor said the fire station and squad strategy aim to reduce response times, protect ladder apparatus life and better serve growing neighborhoods (Prairie Heights, Marley, Arbor Ridge and similar West Side subdivisions). For the police facility, he said planners are prioritizing community engagement space, secure motor‑pool storage and a facility sized to serve 25–50 officers as the department grows.
End note Station 13 construction is planned to begin in September; the police headquarters replacement remains in study and programming phases with no construction scheduled.