Members of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees approved a feasibility study last month regarding the replacement of Fire Station No. 2 in the community.
While Supervisor Kurt Heise, Trustee John Stewart and Clerk Jerry Vorva consider the construction a top priority, Trustees Jen Buckley, Chuck Curmi and Audrey Monaghan do not place the same level of importance on the fire station, rating it as a five on a scale of one to five during a goal setting session earlier this year. Treasurer Bob Doroshewitz rated the importance of a new fire station at a three.
Heise said the current fire station on Wilcox Road should be razed and a new station built at the existing site during discussion of the issue during a recent meeting. The building will soon be 50 years old, he reminded the board members.
“The decision to build a fire station is a huge decision and it's going to be one of the biggest decisions we would make in this decade,” Heise said.
Stewart also expressed his conviction that a new station was necessary, reminding the trustees that they had recently approved the construction of new apartments in the area and that several local businesses rely on Station 2 for emergency services. During discussion of the feasibility study, Stewart said he wanted a report “from A to Z” and that he wanted the state standards for service of firefighters included.
Board members agreed unanimously to the study to be completed by Dec. 1, with Monaghan absent from the meeting. The study will be performed by Heise, the township engineer and planner and Fire Chief Pat Conely.
Conely is also strongly in favor of a new station nothing the current facility is outdated and beyond rehabilitation. He said the department makes the current building work but that “it could definitely be better.” He explained that the station is cramped and out of space and is not energy efficient. The station, Conely said, lacks space for safety turnout gear and has small living quarters, only a single restroom and no workout space for firefighters.
“Our ladder truck won't even fit in this station,” Conely said.
