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Fire chief asks committee to boost equipment and station reserve ahead of Central Station rebuild
Summary
At the Sept. 15 Capital Improvement Program Committee meeting, the Alton Fire Chief requested adding $400,000 to the department's equipment capital reserve fund and $300,000 to a newly established building-improvement reserve to begin saving for a replacement or major renovation of Central Fire Station.
At the Sept. 15 meeting of the Alton Town Capital Improvement Program Committee at Town Hall, the Alton Fire Department asked the committee to add $400,000 to its equipment capital reserve fund and $300,000 to a fire station building-improvement reserve.
The request is intended to begin accumulating a down payment for design, engineering and potential bonding for a replacement or major renovation of Central Fire Station. "It's lacking appropriate space, storage, apparatus room, living quarters, and whatnot," the Fire Chief said, noting the building was constructed in the late 1950s and has undergone several renovations.
Why it matters: Committee members and the chief said the town is behind schedule on replacing Central Station and that delaying fundraising could increase long-term costs. The chief said the department wants to build a target funding goal in the reserve so the town can pay initial design and engineering costs and reduce the amount that would have to be bonded and financed by voters.
Committee members discussed whether the $300,000 appropriation should be a recurring, annual contribution to the new building-improvement reserve. The chief said there is not yet a firm cost estimate for a full rebuild and that the department "would have to have it bonded" in part, with the reserve serving as a down payment. He recalled a previous, older local project that had a $2,300,000 price tag five to seven years ago, and said, "with inflation and all that, I'm sure we're, at least, I would imagine, double that."
The department also noted the town has three other aging substations that require ongoing maintenance. Equipment purchases already planned for 2025, including a new engine and extrication equipment, were described as completed or in process; monitors and PPE were funded from other departmental sources. Committee members did not take a formal vote on the appropriations at the meeting; the chief said the goal is to assemble a project plan within the next one to two years and present proposals to voters when ready.
The committee moved on after the presentation and thanked the chief for the update. No formal amendments or binding decisions were made during the session.
