2016 The Proposed Fire/EMS Station

Now that 2016 is upon us we would like to update everybody on the status of the proposed fire station. On Tuesday, March 8th 2016, residents will vote once again on whether the Town of Milton should build a new fire-rescue facility.  In 2015 residents approved funding in the amount of $143,000 to finalize the design and send the project out for competitive bid. In January of 2016, with all bids received and compiled, the Fire Chief and Eckman Construction put together a comprehensive and detailed project budget totaling $2,795,000.

The town has previously presented proposals to residents in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2014. Over the past few years, the fire department has reevaluated the needs of the town and the department. In 2014 the town extended our contracts with the design firms for the purpose of retaining the firms and making changes to the design without incurring additional costs to the town.

The design changes consist of a reduction in square footage from; 12,000 sq/ft to 9,000 sq/ft, as well as more simplistic footprint and rooflines. The reduction comes from consolidating spaces, making spaces dual purpose, eliminating storage space, and slightly reducing the space around the vehicles. Additionally, the new square footage has reduced the number of bathroom facilities required by code. The revised design consists of all the same components as the previous plan just on a slightly reduced scale. Is the new proposal ideal? No, but it will work for what we need. The 2013 and 2014 proposal fit our needs for today and the future. The revised plan will fit our needs for "today" and "tomorrow" but the 25-year future is unknown. The department made a valiant attempt to address a wide array concerns from the residents and continue attempting to reduce the costs without reducing the quality of the fire station. Some expressed concerns about the flat roof; it is now peaked. Some expressed concerns about the size; it has been reduced by 25%. Some expressed concerns about the project cost only being estimated; we have finalized the design and competitively bid the project leaving no question to the costs.

There is a need for a new station in Milton; this need will not go away. The cost of construction continues to rise. Grant money for new fire stations is no longer prevalent. The Town of Milton Department Heads came together to formulate a plan for our capital needs in Milton. Part of that plan was to complete the design for the fire station in 2015 and ask residents to fund the construction in 2016.

Thank you for taking the time to look at the proposed new station and to consider approving the next step in March. Please feel free to contact the fire chief if you have any questions, comments, or concerns at any time.