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Fire chief outlines multi‑year Fire Station No. 2 relocation and apparatus savings in CIP presentation

Ames City Council · January 21, 2026

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Summary

The fire department presented a multi‑year relocation plan for Fire Station No. 2 on State Avenue, a project that staff said will span three fiscal years and aims to leverage leased land from Iowa State University; staff also described apparatus and rescue vehicle replacements and cost‑saving procurement methods.

Chris Higgins (identified in the transcript as "Chris Higgins, aims") presented the fire department's CIP pages and answered council questions. He described a multi‑year Fire Station No. 2 relocation and construction project on State Avenue, sited on land leased from Iowa State University. Higgins said schematic design is complete and the project is expected to break ground in about 10 months and take 12–14 months to complete, with a target completion near December 2027 if the schedule holds: "We're hoping to break ground...and then 12 to 14 months to get it complete. We're hoping to do that in December '27 if everything goes according to plan."

The chief also highlighted recent fleet and apparatus work: the department received two Ford Lightning vehicles and has type‑2 charging at Station No. 1; the department replaced medium‑duty rescue vehicles with adapted commercial chassis and specialty equipment to reduce replacement cost to about $100,000 per apparatus from a previous replacement estimate of roughly $400,000. On engines, the department uses a purchasing cooperative (Sourcewell) to lock pricing and staff said one apparatus price is already locked in for the 27‑28 delivery.

Council asked about site access, trail connectivity, and whether the shared use path would be affected during construction; staff said they are coordinating with Public Works and may reroute or modify the shared use path as part of construction staging and safety improvements. Higgins noted that the city is taking a small corner of a 29‑acre parcel and emphasized the university lease reduces land costs and debt service obligations.

No formal vote on station relocation or apparatus contracts occurred at the meeting; staff will return with contract details and any procurement documents as pricing is finalized.