Bay City — Redstone Architects told the Bay City City Commission on Nov. 3 that Fire Station 5 on Smith Street is in poor to critical condition, insufficient in size for modern operations, and costly to renovate. The firm recommended against renovating Station 5 and urged the city to consider renovating and expanding Station 4 on the north side of the river or building a new station.

The report, presented by Daniel Redstone of Redstone Architects, described Station 5 as a 1965 building with a 1980s addition of about 4,900 square feet that would need extensive interior demolition and systems replacement to comply with current energy, ADA, and NFPA workflows. "Our recommendation is do not renovate Station 5," Redstone said during the presentation.

Redstone summarized the space‑needs assessment and cost options: a limited 5,000‑square‑foot renovation (not sufficient to meet full station operational requirements) at roughly $350 per square foot; a renovate‑and‑expand option (about an 8,000‑square‑foot target) with an estimated construction cost of roughly $3.4 million; and a full new build estimated near $4.0–$4.5 million. He said a modern replacement station would require roughly 8,200 square feet to provide adequate apparatus bay size, separate hot/warm/cold transition zones, individual bunkrooms, exercise and EMS supply areas, and support space.

Redstone also presented a runtime analysis intended to estimate response‑time outcomes under different options and to compare them to NFPA 1710 guidance (which recommends a four‑minute turnout/response time for a specified percentage of incidents). Using department data, he said the department averages roughly 5,000–5,500 calls per year and that about 60 percent are rescue and emergency medical responses. The analysis showed that if Station 5 remains in operation, approximately 98 percent of calls meet the four‑minute benchmark; closing Station 5 and operating from Station 4 would yield about 93 percent overall but approximately 88.5 percent for structure fires (slightly under the 90 percent threshold cited for NFPA guidance). Redstone said the two scenarios would have similar impacts on the city's ISO insurance rating.

Commissioners pressed for clarifications. Commissioner Coakley asked whether the consultant had examined Station 2; Redstone said his study focused on Station 5 but that he toured Stations 2 and 4 and described Station 2 as having significant problems. Commissioner Morris raised legal concerns about operating below NFPA targets and asked whether the city could face liability; Redstone said he could not answer legal questions and commissioners requested a written legal opinion for a future meeting.

Commissioner Charlebois emphasized geographic and operational risks on the west and northwest sides of the city, citing bridge delays and mutual‑aid dependencies and questioning whether closing a station would degrade coverage in practice. Several commissioners and staff noted that Station 2 — constructed in the 1950s — has long‑standing structural problems and PFAS contamination that make it the highest current priority for remediation or replacement; staff said grant funding applications for remediation were in process and that a federal grant of about $900,000 had been requested for cleanup of Station 2.

City staff and commissioners also discussed staffing realities: NFPA 1710 addresses both response times and staffing levels, and presenters and public safety officials noted that the city does not have the staffing levels NFPA would assume for the idealized standard. Commissioners said capital costs are only one portion of a long‑term plan that must also include operating and staffing costs if new or expanded stations are opened.

No formal action on Station 5 occurred at the meeting. The commission and staff scheduled a public safety infrastructure meeting for Nov. 17 to consider the broader capital and operational plan before the commission takes further action.

Why it matters: The consultant’s recommendation — not to renovate Station 5 because renovation costs are near new‑construction costs and because the Smith Street parcel is constrained — frames a decision that affects station locations, capital prioritization, PFAS remediation needs, and the staffing and millage discussions commissioners signaled they may seek. The recommendation will inform the Nov. 17 infrastructure discussion and any subsequent capital plan or ballot proposal.

Provenance: Redstone’s presentation and recommendation appear throughout the meeting transcript beginning with his opening remarks at 00:08:28 and the cost/space summaries and runtime analysis from 00:13:19 to 00:18:39. Key excerpts: "This is the existing site on Smith Street..." and "Our recommendation is do not renovate Station 5."