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Officials urge voters to approve $15.7 million bond to replace Station 43
Summary
A Station 43 representative and city presenters said the existing fire station has structural, accessibility and contamination problems and that the city will ask voters in August to approve a $15,700,000 bond to build a replacement; officials warned response and staffing could be harmed if the bond fails.
A Station 43 representative, an agency official, described repeated flooding, sewage backups and hazardous contamination in the aging fire station and said the issues require demolition and replacement rather than repairs.
“Our only ADA entrance into this building is actually through this front door which is blocked by the sandbags, so technically, it’s not really an ADA entrance,” the Station 43 representative said, describing sandbags used to keep stormwater out because the station sits lower than the main road.
The representative also described sewage backing up “through this walk in shower” and into two dorms and said turnout gear is cleaned in the same room used to launder towels and uniforms. “All of these things should be separated to keep our carcinogens out of our personal clothing,” the representative said, urging separation of gear cleaning from personnel laundry.
A presenter described the funding plan: “The city is asking the voters to approve a $15,700,000 bond to fund the construction of a new station,” the presenter said. The representative said the bond would be repaid over 25 years and estimated that for a homeowner of an average-valued house the cost would be about $111 a year. Officials said the vote is scheduled for August.
Asked whether the city could simply fix the problems, a questioner asked, “Could the city just fix all these problems?” The Station 43 representative responded that the issues “can’t be fixed” and that the station would need to be demolished and replaced.
Officials cautioned that if voters do not approve the bond the station would continue to operate but could face increasing difficulty responding to calls and hiring qualified personnel. The representative said the new station is planned to be sited next to the police station so the two facilities can share spaces such as a break room and fitness room.
The representative directed residents to the station’s webpage for updates and details prior to the vote. No formal council vote or motion to place the bond on a ballot was recorded in this transcript.
The presentation and comments in this meeting described a plan to seek voter approval rather than a final funding decision; details on a proposed ballot measure, official language and scheduling beyond the stated August vote were not specified in the transcript.
