Posts Tagged Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote

Rolling Meadows discusses rebuilding fire stations

The Daily Herald has an article bout the village of Rolling Meadows considering the construction of two new fire stations.

With a 4-3 vote the Rolling Meadows City Council reached a preliminary decision Tuesday to build two new fire stations — starting with moving the downtown station to the east side of town near New Wilke and Central roads. Eventually the second station would also be moved from 2455 Plum Grove Road west of Route 53 to Hicks Road between Kirchoff Road and Euclid Avenue.

… there was support both from residents and aldermen to improve service to residents in multifamily homes along Algonquin Road. Studies have shown that is the area most at risk for serious fires and where current response times most frequently miss the desired six-minute range.

Mayor Tom Rooney also endorsed the plan but said if the city moves one station it must move both. He also said the stations will be built only if the slim majority holds through future votes.

Both Prejna and Majikes said many residents had contacted them opposing the new stations, mostly because of the estimated cost, which could be as high as $10 million.

D’Astice, who also objected to the cost, pointed out that most of the areas where response time is more than six minutes are in his ward. He said most of the calls are probably for ambulance service and proposed stationing an ambulance in the area to improve that response time. He also suggested the question should go to a referendum.

While the city council has discussed the future of the city’s fire stations for years, the consensus that something needs to be done about the poor condition of Station 15 at 3111 Meadows Drive pushed the council to a decision. Refurbishing the station would cost at least $500,000, Franzgrote said, and its design is obsolete.

Franzgrote based his recommendation on the results of a study the city commissioned, as well as the fact that the council insisted the city have only two stations. Although New Wilke Road is on the east edge of the city, it is one of the few arteries providing north-south access. Mutual aid pacts with Arlington Heights and Palatine also entered into the recommendations.

thanks Dan

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Rolling Meadows continues to consider plans for fire stations

The Daily Herald has an article about discussions in Rolling Meadows about relocating the downtown fire station.

Rolling Meadows leaders will decide in April whether to move the downtown fire station or repair or rebuild it.

The council made that pledge Tuesday after hearing a recommendation from Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote that [the] downtown station be moved to New Wilke Road near Central Road and that the city’s other station eventually moved to Hicks Road between Euclid Avenue and Kirchoff Road.

Franzgrote said moving both stations would provide the best response times for the entire city.

While New Wilke’s location on the eastern edge of the city presents political issues with neighboring towns, it is the only north-south street east of Route 53 that goes all the way from Euclid to Golf Road, Franzgrote said. The department’s statistics show that 85 percent of the department’s calls are east of Route 53 or immediately west of that highway. Aid pacts with Arlington Heights and Palatine and the locations of fire stations in those communities entered into the recommendation, he said.

The fire station at 3111 Meadows Drive in downtown is 50 years old, and aldermen describe its condition as an “embarrassment” to the city. The other station at 2455 Plum Grove Road west of Route 53 is 33 years old and in better condition.

Rolling Meadows officials have spent years discussing what to do about fire stations.

The city once had a grant toward the cost of a third station, but the council decided during hard economic times that it could not afford the additional expenses of building and staffing the station.

Aldermen charged Franzgrote with making recommendations that involve just two stations and no increased staffing. The chief showed the council five scenarios for station locations. They are posted on the city’s website at ci.rolling-meadows.il.us.

thanks Dan

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Rolling Meadows researches moving Station 15

The Daily Herald has an article about the Village of Rolling Meadows investigating the relocation of the downtown fire station:

Rolling Meadows’ downtown fire station could be moved to better serve residents of the south and southeast parts of the city, the city council indicated Tuesday night.

Reacting to a consultant’s report that the station should be moved and the fact that the fire department building at Kirchoff Road and Meadows Drive is considered badly in need of repair, aldermen directed Chief Scott Franzgrote to bring ideas for where to build a new station.

The south and southeast parts of the city have more calls for service than the north side, the report said.

The council also reiterated on a 5-2 straw poll the decision from years ago to reject building a third fire station, saying the community could not afford it. The city’s second station is on Meacham Road south of Kirchoff Road.

The council was closely divided on whether to build the new station on the site of an equally decrepit old public works building at Central Road and Barker Avenue, as recommended by the consultants. That building is used for storage.

The council also rejected a recommendation to add an ambulance and six paramedic-firefighters to the department.

 

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