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Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Rolling Meadows officials will start interviewing project management firms next week as the next step in the city’s efforts to relocate both  fire stations … the city council last year decided to move both stations to improve emergency response times.

Seven project management firms responded to a request for qualifications, Chief Scott Franzgrote told the city council Tuesday and interviews with four of the companies will help make sure the costs estimates are all-inclusive. Rolling Meadows has Fire Station 15 at 3111 Meadow Drive, which was built in 1958, and Fire Station 16 at 2455 S. Plum Grove Road, which was built in 1980. Under the plan, both would be relocated — though it hasn’t been determined to where — to better balance the calls the department receives.

According to city documents, the cost of building two new fire stations is about $9 million, which includes all design, land acquisition, engineering, architectural and construction costs.

Deciding what to do about the city’s fire stations has been somewhat of a moving target over the past few years. In 2014, the council decided to build a third station, but reversed course last year and voted to remain at two stations, but in new locations.

thanks Dan

Excerpts from the JournalTopics.com:

As the city continues to grapple with the issue of whether to pour funds into fixing a 57-year-old fire station in need of extensive repairs, and whether to move the second station to better meet the needs of a growing community, aldermen last year gave the fire department and city staff the go-ahead to develop a plan on building and relocating the two fire stations.

The request for qualifications that went out from the city said the project will have an anticipated budget of $9,000,000. The project manager would oversee planning and implementation of the project including relocating both fire stations, evaluating station location sites, land acquisition, relocation to temporary facilities if required, creating budgets and project schedules, and coordination of relevant entities such as real estate agents, architects, consultants, engineers, contractors, vendors and more.

Rolling Meadows firehouse are Station 15 (Fogarty Station), 3111 Meadow Dr., which serves areas of the city east of Route 53, and Station 16 (Neucranz Station), 2455 S. Plum Grove Rd., which serves the city west of Route 53.

Station 15 was built in 1958 by the newly formed Rolling Meadows Fire District. At the time, it was a one-story building with two apparatus bays and a kitchen. The station was positioned in a location that represented the center of the fire district’s response area.

Franzgrote has said a new fire station is needed to meet an increasing demand for service, especially on the city’s south side, and to maintain quick response times.