In other actions Tuesday, the Milton City Council:
-- Postponed to May 19 a discussion of Alliant Energy's request to expand its substation. Alliant requested the delay to try to address neighbors' concerns.
-- Approved a second reading of an ordinance that would give the city council power to revoke or amend conditional use permits if businesses aren't meeting the requirements in the permits.
The city discussed the resolution after problems arose with the United Ethanol plant. City Attorney Mark Schroeder believes the ordinance would apply to pre-existing conditional use permits, including the ethanol plant permit, he said.
The ordinance still requires a third reading and adoption.
MILTON — The Milton Joint Fire Department has talked for years of the need for a new fire station, and it appears the city council is ready to start turning talk into action.
Especially if the federal government might pick up most of the tab.
The city council heard a presentation from fire Chief Loren Lippincott on Tuesday about options for a new fire facility.
The existing building, built in the 1970s, is cramped, poorly equipped and in bad condition, Lippincott said. It has cracks over the door, and water seeps into the concrete blocks.
A 2008 consultant study found the station lacks showers and locker rooms for women, adequate sleeping space, and storage and work space.
"The building is basically falling down around one of (the doors)," Lippincott said.
The city and town of Milton split fire costs 50-50, so any discussion of a new facility must include the town. Lippincott will make a similar presentation to the town board Monday, he said.
Lippincott presented three options for a new fire department:
-- A basic new fire station.
-- A fire station combined with a new city police station. The police station also is old and in need of upgrades, police Chief Jerry Schuetz said.
-- A main fire station and a smaller auxiliary one, one on each side of the railroad tracks, with or without a police department in one of them.
Train tracks divide the northern and southern parts of the city, which could cause a problem if the fire department ever has to get to an incident south of the tracks when a train is passing, Lippincott said.
The options could cost between $2.5 million and $4.1 million, according to a developer Lippincott talked to.
But the city and town wouldn't necessarily have to pay for all of it. Lippincott has applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would pay for 80 percent of the project.
"We're in a good position" to get the grant, Lippincott said.
He also has applied for a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that would pay for 90 percent of the project.
Either way, the city and town would have to determine how to divide up the remaining portion.
Council members said the time has come to address the fire station's needs. Several said they favored two buildings.
"If you get an EMS call for a heart attack, you don't have 10, 15 minutes to wait for a train," council member Dave Adams said. "I'd hate to lose even one person because of the train tracks."
Lippincott created a preliminary, conservative timeline for the project that includes approval of a plan in 2010 and construction in 2012.
Mayor Tom Chesmore said he believes the community will support the project, even during the recession.
"I've never known the citizens of this community to turn their backs on something that is a necessity for their lives," he said. "I realize times are very tough right now. People are going to complain. But it's time."