About that new firestation.....

I participated in a round-table discussion last night concerning building a new fire station for our fair city....actually, the discussion and budgetary emphasis for the past XX number of years (truthfully, I don't know how long it's been in the works) has been to build a new station in the northern part of the city. There are a lot of advocates of this plan but probably an equal number of detractors.



After listening to the debate last night, it became clear to me that there is no, single COMPELLING rationale behind building a fire station in the northern part of town, but there is ABUNDANT rationale for doing three very important things as soon as possible:

1. Replace the existing fire station in the central part of town...Honestly, the place is a nightmare.


2. Hire more firefighters. We've been understaffed for years and we're literally "whistling past the graveyard" pretending the potential for loss of life and disaster don't exist as long as we don't do it. WRONG! We're gambling with the lives of our citizens as well as those dedicated public servants we call firefighters.


3. Pass the @#%$#^& SPRINKLER ORDINANCE! Cheeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz......This has been on the agenda since 2002 and we still haven't done anything about it.

Our City is cut almost perfectly in half by some heavily-used railroad tracks. And, truthfully, the greatest potential for HAZMAT disasters rests with what's transported over those tracks. Prior to the construction of the "Boulevard" in our fair City, there were only two access ways from the fire station to the north under those railroad tracks. In those times, there was absolutely no question that a second fire station on the north side of the tracks was required...but it was never built....

After the boulevard was built, the need was less obvious because a new underpass was built and the old one completely rebuilt and modernized with a four-lane road under it, but the momentum to build "north of the tracks" was still there....

It's also, equally true that a great deal of the commercial development and a significant amount of residential development is taking place in the North end....but that is counter balanced by:

1. The transportation access to those sites is better than in the Central, East and South.


2. The construction is more modern, fire-blocked construction for residential units and perhaps even sprinklered for the commercial development.


3. There is less elderly and low-income residential and group homes in that area.

Not to throw some more "crap" in the game.....

In 2011 or 2012 a major US Highway will be four-laned on the City's SOUTH side....there will be "interchanges and exits" in that area immediately south of the City limits. We're hearing rumblings about retail and commercial (fast food) enterprises scrambling for land in that area and we'll see some semblance of growth, both commercial and industrial in the arterial roads leading to that four-lane.

What will our emergency services needs be then?

Deal dealer deal!

T