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Delavan looks at options for new fire station

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DELAVAN — It's been on the city's "to do" list since 1983.

On Monday night, two design firms gave their pitches to make a new Delavan fire station a reality.

The city council and the city's fire station task force heard presentations from two engineering firms: Strand Associates, Madison, and MSA Professional Services, Baraboo.

As part of its capital improvements plan, the city intends to borrow for the project in 2010. Planners are using $3 million as a working number, Administrator Joe Salitros said. The station could be up and running that year, he said.

"We're at the stage where we want to look at a number of firms to have the task force and the council get a better picture of who we want to move forward with," Mayor Mel Nieuwenhuis said.

Fire Chief Neill Flood said the current fire station at 222 S. 7th St. was a "Band-Aid" when the department moved in 1983.

The station that was built in 1948 as an auto agency, and its ventilation, office space and technology infrastructure are inadequate, Flood said.

"The fire department can't stay in that building," council member John Finley said. "It's simply not healthy."

The task force next will consider the best process for construction, Salitros said. For example, the city could go with a construction manager or design/build process, Salitros said.

Salitros expects the task force to make a recommendation in April so the council can hire companies to get to work on project details.

The preliminary design phase could take up to four months, Salitros said.

Proposals by the two engineering firms were preliminary because the city has not hired a firm and has not chosen a location.

A likely parcel is a long, narrow, city-owned lot along Ann Street across Highway 50 from the current station. The city would have to decide whether fire trucks would exit the new station onto Ann Street or Highway 50, which is 7th Street in the city.

Strand Associates is poised to get the state contract for 2013 construction work on 7th Street between Wisconsin Street and Wright Street, Strand engineer Tom Stetzer said. The majority of the project is repaving, although some lanes would be expanded, Salitros said.

The city does not have plans for the current fire station.