Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Mundelein officials have commissioned an independent study of fire department activity to assess whether additional fire stations might be needed.
The Illinois Fire Chiefs Association will look at types of calls, traffic conditions, response times, likely future development, and other factors to determine if a proposed third station is needed. The group also will advise if land being eyed on the University of St. Mary of the Lake campus would be an appropriate location for a station. They will opine if a west-side station may be warranted in the future, too — and if so, suggest where it should be built. In July 2018, the village board approved a letter of intent to lease land on the University of St. Mary of the Lake campus for a third fire station. The letter didn’t commit the village to a lease or to building a new station.
The study will be good for long-range village planning, especially if officials ever decide to build a station on the west side because of continued expansion in that area.
Both of the village’s fire stations are west of the train tracks. The main station is on the village’s north side at 1000 N. Midlothian Road, north of Route 176. A satellite station is on the south side at 1300 S. Lake St., near Hickory Street. Mundelein hasn’t had a fire station east of the railroad tracks in decades. Train traffic on the Canadian National Railroad results in frequent road closures at the tracks, which can affect response times to emergencies on the east side of town.
The information from the study could be used to encourage a developer to donate land to the village for a new station. Such a gift led to the construction of the main station, which opened in 2000. This also could help village officials determine impact fees that would be assessed to developers to help pay for fire service to any new homes. The study will cost the village nearly $15,000.
