GREENFIELD — The mayor’s proposed budget includes $10 million in funding for the design and construction of a new fire station.
“I know there are time constraints, and we know that we’re fast tracking the fire station,” said Fire Chief Robert Strahan, acknowledging the city’s plans to construct the new library in place of the existing station. “But it is an important project that goes hand-in-hand with the revision of the city of Greenfield’s infrastructure.”
Mayor Roxann Wedegartner told city councilors Thursday that April 15 was the last day for architectural firms to submit requests for proposal.
She said the city received 17 applicants.
“I was pleased to hear that, on the one hand, but I was also thinking about our building committee, who has a subcommittee of the building committee, who has to go through those,” Wedegartner said.
The architect will help the city approve a site for the new station.
At a budget hearing Thursday evening, councilors expressed concern about confusion in the community over whether the city was building a fire station or a public safety complex, which would house all emergency management services.
City Council Vice President Otis Wheeler clarified that City Council has not authorized anything with the words “public safety complex.” The $10 million budget is to fund the design and construction of a new fire station.
He said although the long-term goal may be to develop a public safety complex at the new fire station, City Council is currently moving forward with the intention of building a fire station.
“My hope is that once an architect is hired, that will lead to approval of a site,” said Wheeler, who noted City Council has so far authorized an appropriation of $500,000 to hire an architect. “At that point, we may be able to identify whether or not a public safety complex is feasible at such a site.”
Fire Chief Strahan said it has always been the plan for the new fire station to ideally be built in such a way that in the future, a police department could be incorporated into the existing structure.
He said talks about developing a public safety complex began over a decade ago, but when a recent project fell through, the process restarted.
“The finances have shifted a little bit and it really was found that we have to do this in phases,” Strahan said. “We can’t just build this big complex in one shot, because of the finances of the city … it was decided that we would build it in phases.”
Wheeler asked Strahan where the department is in terms of identifying sites for a temporary fire station for when the building is demolished for the construction of the library.
He said the department is in the process of reviewing multiple locations, some of which would require building rehabilitation.
“Everything is on the table, and everything is being looked at very, very loosely,” he said.
The architect, once hired, would help to identify a site for an interim fire station.
Councilor Virginia DeSorgher asked the mayor if $10 million would be enough to fund the project through completion.
Wedegartner said she feels “fairly confident” the proposed budget for the project will allow for the development of a site that will accommodate the fire station first, and the police station going forward.
“To be very honest with you, we have had people say yes, we can do it … but I think when the rubber finally meets the road and we get an architect on, they’ll be able to help us define the cost,” said Wedegartner.
She also addressed existing delays in the library project that could impact the fire station project.
The mayor’s proposed Fire Department budget also includes funding to replace engine 3 and the rescue truck with an engine that serves both purposes, and to replace engine 5 with an all-wheel drive engine, which the department currently lacks. It also budgets for the replacement of the department’s brush truck, which was acquired by the department in the mid-1980s.