For more than seven years the Town of Fountain Hills has been discussing the relocation of its Fire Station No. 2, and when the council meets this week it will be asked to provide staff with direction on how to proceed.

In April the council approved a fire department master plan that addresses the location of future facilities.

That plan proposes two possible sites for relocating Station No. 2, which is currently south of Shea on Saguaro Blvd.

A follow-up analysis of those two sites is what the council will be basing its discussion this week.

Those two sites include one on the north side of Shea Boulevard just east of Palisades Boulevard, and a second lot on the west side of Fountain Hills Boulevard north of Shea at Muskrat Drive.

The analysis concludes with a recommendation by staff that they proceed toward acquisition and development of the site on Fountain Hills Boulevard.

That recommendation is subject to a successful land trade to acquire the site from MCO Properties and a positive discussion with neighbors as close as 200 feet from the proposed facility.

The Shea Boulevard location is within the town-owned right-of-way and has fewer neighborhood conflicts.

However, the Shea property is smaller and along a six-lane roadway with higher speeds and visibility issues. This could pose safety concerns.

The Shea location also has a building design completed. This was the property the town had chosen in pursuing a FEMA grant proposal as part of the federal economic stimulus legislation in 2009. The town did not receive that grant.

It is expected the existing design could be adapted to the Fountain Hills Boulevard site but the potential cost for modification is unknown.

The Fountain Hills Boulevard parcel also has the advantage of being larger and has ready access to all utilities including sewer service from the Sanitary District.

There is undetermined but likely higher cost of having the Shea lot connected to a sewer line.

One of the key objectives in relocating the fire station would be to significantly reduce response times in western and southwestern areas of Fountain Hills.

The study does not indicate there is any substantial difference in response coverage presented by either of the proposed locations.

The town has earmarked just over $2 million in its Capital Improvement Budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year for construction of a new fire station.

When Fire Station No. 2 was built by the then Fire District in 1993 the district was under contract with the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation to provide emergency services on the reservation, and development in western Fountain Hills was still in the very beginning stages.

Since that time, however, Fort McDowell has established its own fire department and significant development in Eagle Mountain and FireRock Country Club has added to the population in the western areas of town along Shea.

Issues with response time were highlighted in 2006 when a million-dollar home in the Eagle Mountain subdivision was destroyed by fire. That incident prompted officials to begin looking at options for relocation of Fire Station No. 2.

The Town Council meets Thursday, Sept. 4, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public.