Posts Tagged Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station

Rolling Meadows discusses rebuilding fire stations (more)

Oct 12

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | Comments off

Rolling Meadows could purchase property less than a mile from its existing fire station on Plum Grove Road for the second of two proposed fire stations.

The city plans to offer $800,000 for 42,246 square feet of land at 2320 and 2350 Hicks Road, just west of Route 53 and north of Kirchoff Road. On Tuesday, the city council voted 4-3 in a first reading vote to authorize the purchase. A final, second reading vote is scheduled for Oct. 24.

The land deal would be the second piece to the fire department’s controversial $9 million plan to relocate both city firehouses, aimed at improving response times and reducing fire risk throughout town.

Last month, the council voted 4-2 to buy land for $1.3 million at 3201 Algonquin Road on the south side of town. The 77,195-square-foot site is where a new station would be built to replace the aging downtown Station 15 at 3111 Meadow Drive. While Station 15 would move south, Station 16 at 2455 S. Plum Grove Road would move slightly east.

The plan has rankled residents and aldermen that would lose a fire station close to them.

As architectural drawings are still being completed, the earliest construction could begin to replace Station 15 is next spring, with completion 18 months later.

Tags: Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station, Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Rolling Meadows Fire Department, Rolling Meadows to relocate fire stations

Rolling Meadows discusses rebuilding fire stations (more)

Sep 14

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Rolling Meadows has identified land on Algonquin Road for one of two proposed city fire stations.

The city council will vote Tuesday night on a purchase and sale contract for a 77,195-square-foot site at 3201 Algonquin Road, where the former Woo Lae Oak Korean restaurant has stood vacant for three years.

Aldermen will take a first reading vote to authorize spending $1.3 million for the land, owned by Judicial Drive Property Holdings, LLC. A final, second reading vote is scheduled for Sept. 26.

The council will also vote on an ordinance amending city zoning code to allow fire stations within T-1 and T-2 office zoning districts. The Algonquin Road site is within the T-1 district.

If approved, the land purchase would lead to construction of a new Station 15. It would replace the aging downtown station at 3111 Meadow Drive.

The city’s other firehouse, Station 16 at 2455 S. Plum Grove Road, would be replaced with a new station to the east, as part of the fire department’s relocation plan aimed at improving response times and reducing fire risk throughout town.

Tuesday’s vote is significant, since the city’s elected officials have been debating whether to move and/or build fire stations for more than a decade. Though new Mayor Len Prejna supports replacing only Station 15, the newly-seated council took a 4-2 informal straw vote in June to proceed with plans to replace both stations.

Critics have said the estimated $9 million cost to acquire properties and build two new stations is too much.

Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote said that number — calculated two years ago — is still a target, but inflation may increase the price.

Aldermen have been meeting in closed session since January to consider about a dozen sites for the two new stations, leading to Tuesday’s planned open session vote on the Algonquin Road site. The location is about a half-mile from where the city considered building a third fire station. The council decided to build that station in 2014 but reversed course the next year and decided to remain with two stations but in new locations.

Negotiations, meanwhile, continue to acquire land for the second station.

Franzgrote said it would be ideal to build both stations and have them open at the same time, but the property acquisition process for the second site may not make that possible.

The earliest construction could begin for the new Station 15 is next spring, with completion 18 months later, Franzgrote said.

The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at 3600 Kirchoff Road.

thanks Dan

Rolling Meadows discusses rebuilding fire stations (more)

Apr 29

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 2 Comments

The Daily Herald has an updated article on the Rolling Meadows proposal for new fire stations:

The Rolling Meadows City Council voted 4-3 on April 15 to build two new fire stations in new locations, but aldermen and citizens on the losing side are making it clear they will not give up easily.

Sixth Ward Alderman John D’Astice said Tuesday he wants to discuss putting the issue of moving the city’s fire stations to voters as a referendum. He also said he wants the city council to study basing an ambulance on the city’s south side as an alternative to moving the stations.

Mayor Tom Rooney said Tuesday that both topics are suitable for discussion at future council meetings.

Supporters of the plan approved earlier this month say replacing the decrepit downtown fire station with a new one farther east, near New Wilke and Central roads, will provide faster service to the area along Algonquin Road, especially older multifamily complexes more at risk for serious fires. However, D’Astice, who represents much of the area, said he thinks most of the calls there are for ambulance service.

A second station also would be moved from 2455 Plum Grove Road, west of Route 53, to Hicks Road, between Kirchoff Road and Euclid Avenue.

The cost of the plan has been estimated as high as $10 million.

For years the city council has been strongly against the expense of building and staffing a third station, even at one point rejecting a grant that would have funded much of the construction costs.

Second Ward Alderman Len Prejna, also an opponent of moving the fire stations, said he also has received considerable correspondence and “even a knock on the door.”

thanks Dan

Tags: Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station, Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Rolling Meadows Fire Department, Tom Rooney

Rolling Meadows discusses rebuilding fire stations

Apr 17

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

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

Tags: Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station, Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Rolling Meadows Fire Department

A new fire station for Rolling Meadows is still on the table

Mar 8

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The Daily Herald has an article about discussions in Rolling Meadows about finances and new fire stations:

Rolling Meadows’ bond rating rose significantly late last year, which could make it easier to borrow money if the city decides to build one or two new fire stations, Mayor Tom Rooney told the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce during his annual State of the City address Monday. Standard & Poor’s gave the city a AA+ rating, with a stable note that means the positive trend in the city’s finances is expected to continue, Rooney said. That is up from last year’s A+.

“The work that we’ve done to bring the debt level down means that we could (borrow),” Rooney said in response to a question about how the city would pay for one or two new fire stations.

The city reduced its debt level to 44 percent of its annual budget, compared with 65 percent not long ago, he said. On the other hand, the city’s cash on hand has risen from 12 percent to 31 percent of the budget in about 18 months.

Rooney displayed a map showing that the city’s largest threat of serious fires is in older multifamily residences. They are concentrated on both sides of Route 53 between the Jane Addams Tollway (I-90) and Algonquin Road, and on the east side of Route 53 between Central and Algonquin. Moving the 50-year-old downtown fire station from 3111 Meadow Drive to the area of Wilke and Central roads would put those homes within the desired four- to six-minute response time, he said.

It also would mean ideally the second station at 2455 Plum Grove Road should move east to the vicinity of Kirchoff Road and Route 53. “Moving a fire station is a political football no matter how it’s sliced and diced,” Rooney said. “Nobody wants to see a fire station moving any further from them. It’s at the heart of what people fear for their safety.”

Aldermen have said the downtown station is in deplorable condition, and the city council has committed to making a decision on the future of the fire stations in April. Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote has said building two new stations could cost up to $9 million.

thanks Dennis

Tags: 3rd fire station a possibility for Rolling Meadows, Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Mayor Tom Rooney, Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce, Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station, Rolling Meadows Fire Department

Rolling Meadows continues to consider plans for fire stations

Nov 24

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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

Tags: Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station, Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Rolling Meadows Fire Department, study conducted to help Rolling Meadows Fire Department

Rolling Meadows researches moving Station 15

Aug 25

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | 1 Comment

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.

Tags: Rolling Meadows considers relocation of fire station, Rolling Meadows Fire Chief Scott Franzgrote, Rolling Meadows Fire Department, Rolling Meadows rejects hiring more firefighters