The Niles Herald Spector has an article about discussions between Niles and Morton Grove to share a fire station:
The mayors of the villages of Niles and Morton Grove are discussing the possibility of combining resources to build a shared firehouse.
Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo says it might be cheaper for the two villages to build one new facility than to repair their existing structures. The fire departments would still operate separately. Przybylo said the discussions with Morton Grove Mayor Dan DiMaria are still in the very preliminary stages and nothing has been decided.
The Morton Grove Fire Department currently has two stations. Its headquarters are at the intersection of Lincoln and Callie avenues, with the second facility at 8954 Shermer Road. Niles has
one[two] fire station[s, one] at Dempster Street and Cumberland Avenue, [and the other at 6611 Jarvis].Przybylo said the headquarters of both fire departments are due for major repairs. Given the expenses involved, he argued, combining resources would make sense.
“If the village of Niles has to spend several million dollars to refurbish our house on Dempster, and Morton Grove has to refurbish its firehouse, maybe it would be better to build a new firehouse,” Przybylo said in an interview. “It would be better for the villages to take millions of dollars and build one firehouse that’s less expensive than two.”
He also argued because Niles and Morton Grove are close together, sending fire trucks from the same location makes sense. He noted the villages’ fire trucks already get dispatched into each other’s territory.
Among the issues to be resolved if the plan is to proceed would be choosing a site and figuring out how to fund the project. So far, Przybylo said, there hasn’t been much progress on the idea but he remains hopeful. Ryan Horne, the Morton Grove village administrator, said his community wouldn’t necessarily be averse to the idea
thanks Ron
