SPRINGDALE — The decision by voters to build a fire station leads to a tough decision for the City Council: where to build it.
At A Glance
Fire Station Public Meeting
Springdale will hold a public meeting on the sites for a new Fire Station No. 7 and moving Station No. 2 and Station No. 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10. The session will be held in City Council Chambers at the City Administration Building, 201 Spring St.
Source: City Of Springdale
The Fire Department gave the council’s Police and Fire Committee two locations to consider. A station could be near the intersection of Mountain and Monitor roads on the east side of the city or near the intersection of Har-Ber Avenue and Gibbs Road on the west side. No property has been purchased.
Public input will be an important factor in the decision-making process, said Mayor Doug Sprouse.
“The council would like to hear the public’s input, and I would, too,” Sprouse said.
An input session is set for Dec. 10 at the City Administration Building. Information about proposed sites for the city’s seventh fire station will be available as will information about the sites for the planned relocation of Stations No. 2 and No. 3.
Fire station construction became possible after voters approved selling bonds to raise $67.3 million for infrastructure projects. Revenue from a sales tax is used to repay the bonds.
The bond money will be divided among three projects: fire station construction receives $8.5 million; street projects receive $42.7 million and parks get $16.1 million.
Fire Department officials have considered for years moving Station No. 2 further south and Station No. 3 further north. Several addresses in the center of the city can reached by multiple stations in the 4-minute response time recommended by the National Fire Prevention Association, said Mike Irwin, fire chief.
The moved stations, as well as the new station, should be located to provide the best coverage for the city, Irwin said. Plans call for Station No. 2, now at 1207 Dyer St., to move to a site on the south side of Don Tyson Parkway between the railroad bridge and Thompson Street.
Station No. 3 could move to Cooper Drive, where units have ready access to Thompson Street. The station will back up to a long section of the Razorback Greenway trail, Irwin said.
Vera Tripp, who lives next to Station No. 3 on Sanders Street, said she will be sad to see the station move.
“They have been very good neighbors,” Tripp said. “They don’t turn their sirens on at night until they have already left the station.”
A study by the International Association of Fire Fighters based on the Springdale street system showed four major holes in response time after relocation: to the east, west, north and northwest. Only the holes in the east and west response showed enough call volume and population density to justify a station there, Irwin said.
A new east station would help with responses to the Bayyari Elementary School area. A west station would improve times to Har-Ber Meadows subdivision.
Alderman Jim Reed suggested the west location would help with response times to the northwest. The area north of Elm Springs has the longest response times in the city. Reed lives in that area.
“I’m not complaining,” Reed said. “We’re always glad to see them when they come. We’d just like to see them a little faster.”
An east station would give the department a location on the east side of the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad tracks, said Kathy Jaycox. Jaycox lives near the proposed eastern site.
Trains on the tracks have blocked fire trucks responding to calls, said Kevin McDonald, assistant fire chief.
Officials recommend building stations at both sites, said Irwin. He said he’s aware the city might not have the money to do that.
Sprouse recommended buying property for both stations, as well as a future Station No. 9. Land for a Station No. 10 will be available, he said, when the city buys park land in the northwest section of the city.