After years of discussion and study, a proposal for relocating one of the town’s fire stations may finally be getting off the ground.

After hearing council discussion at a study session Oct. 13, Town Manager Grady Miller said he heard a council consensus on the issue to move forward with the next step of hiring an architect.

The council took no formal vote during the study session, but Mayor Linda Kavanagh told staff to move forward as quickly as possible with the project.

“This will take some time,” Kavanagh said.

Miller said he would begin the process by preparing a request for qualifications from architectural firms for a professional services agreement.

The council will have its first formal vote on the plan when it comes time to hire the architect, probably sometime early next year.

The town has budgeted $3.6 million for the new fire station, which at this time is estimated to cost just over $3 million on a site at Fountain Hills Boulevard and Muskrat Drive, just north of Shea Boulevard.

Miller said a key component of the planning will be engaging with neighbors, which while sparsely populated has one residence just 150 feet from the proposed fire station.

Rural/Metro Fire Chief Randy Roberts said they held previous meetings with residents in 2013 and will work to address any concerns during the design process.

Response issues

Rural/Metro and staff determined some time ago that response time standards were not being met in Fountain Hills and viewed the relocation of Station No. 2 as an important way to address that concern.

Roberts said that when the old Fire District built Station No. 2 on Saguaro Boulevard about a quarter mile south of Shea, the bulk of the population in southern Fountain Hills was to the east of Fountain Hills Boulevard.

Also, the district contracted to provide emergency services at the time to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Community and the Saguaro location was well situated to access the reservation area.

Since the dissolution of the Fire District in 2001 there has been new development to the west along Shea Boulevard including Eagle Mountain, FireRock Country Club and Crestview, significantly increasing the population in town to the southwest.

Also, Fort McDowell established its own fire department.

When Scottsdale established its own fire department and discontinued its Rural/Metro contract, the town lost automatic aid from Scottsdale into the southwest corner of Fountain Hills.

Roberts cited these as the key reasons that Station No. 2 has a problem in meeting response time standards.

Also, there is a significant call volume imbalance between the two fire stations.

Currently Station No. 1, on Palisades Boulevard at Avenue of the Fountains, responds to 80 percent of the calls in Fountain Hills, leaving Station No. 2 answering just 20 percent.

Roberts said that relocation to the area of Shea and Fountain Hills boulevards would rebalance the call load to around 60 percent to 40 percent.

He noted this is a much better use of manpower and resources.

Where to go

In 2009 the federal government was offering grant funding for capital projects that could help pull the country out of the recession.

At that time the town applied for a grant to relocate Station No. 2 using the only available site on short notice – a wide spot in the right of way on Shea Boulevard just east of Palisades Boulevard.

The town did not receive the grant and the project was shelved after a design and building plans were completed for that site.

As the discussion of the relocation continued at a later time, staff noted that in the haste to have a “shovel ready” project for the grant funding the site chosen was less than ideal for fire department needs and another location was sought.

The town was able to swap a site that MCO Properties had dedicated for a fire station in Eagles Nest for the Fountain Hills Blvd. and Muskrat parcel.

It is larger and better suited to a fire station than the Shea site.

However, with a plan in hand the council had concerns about wasting the costs for making a new plan for the second site. Staff was asked to justify restarting a plan for the new location.

At the study session staff was able to point out that the Shea parcel has significant issues with utility installation, the need for a traffic signal and the lot size inadequacy. Also, there were safety concerns related to traffic speed on Shea as well as line of sight.

Staff determined that the costs would be essentially a wash. The estimate for current construction on Shea was $3.1 million, slightly higher than Fountain Hills Boulevard.

Councilman Nick DePorter said based on the significant differences, including access and safety, he supported having staff move ahead with the Fountain Hills Boulevard site.

Council asked staff to look for any opportunities for cost savings and to be sure neighbors are engaged and given opportunities to discuss the station and issues they may have.

Neighborhood meetings are being planned.

Miller also told the council that staff had been considering options for disposal or use of the old Station No. 2 site.

He said based on what he has learned he does not see a viable use for the town to repurpose the building for town use. It will likely be sold for commercial use or redevelopment. Private commercial use would likely require rezoning. The site is zoned for higher density residential.