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Residents and commissioners press city to reopen Station 5, address staffing and Station 2 conditions
Summary
Public commenters and several commissioners pressed the City of Bay City on Sept. 15 to repair and reopen Fire Station 5 and to address staffing shortfalls and poor conditions at Station 2, including a claim of elevated PFAS levels and sharply reduced firefighter staffing since a public safety reorganization.
Residents and commissioners urged Bay City leaders on Sept. 15 to prioritize repairs and staffing for local fire stations, saying closures and staff reductions have reduced on-call resources in industrial and residential corridors.
Judy Brenner, a member of the Northwest Citizens District Council, told the commission that Fire Station 5 on Smith Street was closed "quietly in July 2024" and said reasons cited for the closure included staffing shortages and mold and mildew from a leaking roof. Brenner said the closure leaves the Wilder Road–Truman Parkway–Industrial Park area more exposed to slower emergency response because frequent train crossings and bridge closures can limit travel between other city stations.
Brenner said the coordinating council passed a resolution in April approving use of Marquette Industrial Park TIFA funds to repair Station 5 and that an architectural review requested by the city manager was expected to be completed and available by October. She called for the city to repair and reopen Station 5 and to hire more full-time firefighters, saying the city’s full-time firefighter ranks had fallen from about 60 to around 23 since a move to the public-safety concept.
Commissioners raised related concerns in the remarks section of the meeting. Commissioner Coakley said Station 2 is an important station that handles roughly 2,500 calls a year and asked staff to focus on it before conditions worsen. Commissioner Teddy, who said he toured Station 2 on Friday, described the station condition as "very poor" and asserted that "the PFAS levels there are through the roof." Teddy contrasted Station 2’s call volume with Station 5, saying Station 5 handles about 500 calls a year.
Commissioner Runberg asked the city manager for figures on what funds might be reallocated from existing accounts (questions later framed around TIF allocations and previously discussed "flock" funds). The city manager and staff said the architectural review for Station 5 was underway and that staff would provide further information and figures for the commission. One commissioner noted some TIFA funding decisions are restricted and not fully reassignable; the exact reallocatable amount was not specified in the meeting.
No formal action or vote on repairs, staffing or funding took place during the meeting; commissioners requested follow-up information from staff and indicated interest in options including targeted capital projects or bonding for fire department needs.
All factual claims about closure dates, staffing levels, call volumes, PFAS levels and approved TIFA resolutions appear in public comments or commissioner remarks and are attributed here to the speakers who made them.
