Highland Park council backs planning for new Fire Station 34 and pedestrian bridge

Highland Park officials on May 27 endorsed staff’s recommendation to move ahead with planning and engineering for a replacement Fire Station 34 and a pedestrian bridge, after consultants told the Committee of the Whole that constrained site conditions make meeting the city’s full public‑works space needs costly and complicated.

The recommendation, introduced by City Manager Newkerk, followed a presentation from Williams architect Andy Dogen and the project team that estimated total program needs across public works, community development and the fire department at roughly 126,000 square feet, driven largely by vehicle storage and fleet maintenance. "We have a brief staff report in the packet this evening that's going to guide our conversation this evening," Newkerk told the council when introducing the item.

Why it matters: the project will touch multiple services, require capital in the city’s 10‑year CIP and likely involve debt issuance. Newkerk emphasized Highland Park’s AAA bond rating and said staff had budgeted planning funds in FY26 and included a FY27 placeholder of $17.5 million; the team nevertheless showed several conceptual cost scenarios that exceed that placeholder.

Key facts and figures from the presentation include: the consultant’s program estimate of about 126,000 sq ft in total need; 26,000 sq ft identified as vehicle footprint for fleet storage (with circulation needs increasing the garage footprint); a new fire station budget estimate of about $13.5 million; an option that replaces the administrative block and remodels existing garage/shops at roughly $30 million (dropping to about $25 million if extensive garage work is deferred); a remodel/partial reuse concept at about $38 million; and an all‑new build tracking near $44 million. Andy Dogen cautioned that "these are budget numbers. These are not based on a specific design but rather just on square footage." Staff said cost estimates include escalation, stormwater management, furniture, fixtures and equipment, and professional services.

The team also flagged site constraints that affect design and cost. Dogen noted a 20‑inch water main under a narrow connector between an apparatus bay and living area at the existing station that limits building directly above that location, and he showed that portions of the site fall inside a 500‑year (0.2%) flood area that would require compensatory storage or raising finished floor elevations. "Because it's the 500‑year, it's not a lot that we have to do," Dogen said of required elevation work, while adding that remediation and remapping would be time‑consuming and costly.

Operational planning shaped scope decisions. The consultant proposed a three‑bay station with extra deep bays to accommodate longer apparatus and reserve vehicles; Fire Chief Joe Shraggy said the design responds to fleet storage challenges and the inability to expand Station 33. "We also have the opticom control to be able to stop that light to to move traffic in the right directions," Chief Shraggy said in response to a council question about the Summit intersection.

Schedule and next steps: staff recommended advancing planning and engineering this year, aiming to be bid‑ready by year‑end or January/February to allow a spring construction start, with construction estimated at about 12–14 months. Council members asked staff to return this summer with a financing strategy that analyzes tax‑rate impacts and the cost of delaying projects. City Manager Newkerk said staff would do that and seek council feedback on scope, phasing and funding.

Council response: several council members expressed support for advancing planning. Council member Marissa said, "I'm in favor of moving forward with fire station," and others voiced assent in the meeting’s discussion; staff characterized the response as a green light to proceed with detailed engineering and financial analysis rather than final design or bond authorization.

What’s next: staff will proceed with planning and engineering for the fire station and the pedestrian bridge (the bridge concept was discussed at about $3 million), return later this summer with a finance plan and present refined scope, cost and schedule information for council direction.

Note: budget numbers discussed at the meeting were preliminary high‑level estimates and staff emphasized they will be refined through design, additional engineering and procurement.