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Town of Beloit starts planning for new fire station
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| Staff photo by Ashley Rhodebeck Town of Beloit Supervisors Dick LaMonte and Phil Taber speak to Fire Department Chief Dennis Ahrens about the community’s tanker Wednesday during a tour of the station. The supervisors also began discussions about building a new facility. |
By Ashley Rhodebeck
Daily News staff writer
Supervisors argue about best location
As the Town of Beloit Board of Supervisors began discussions Wednesday about building a new fire station board members disagreed about where the facility should go, so they charged Fire Chief Dennis Ahrens to return next month with a recommendation.
The fire station at the intersection of South Afton and Newark roads served as the meeting's backdrop so that the supervisors could tour the facilities.
Built in 1956, the station has undergone several expansions. For example, the training room was once the fire chief's living quarters, and a breezeway has long been transformed into an area for storage of gear.
“This building is not the Taj Mahal,” Supervisor David Townsend said. “It works for now. It could be station No. 2.”
Indeed, the Town of Beloit operates with two fire stations; the secondary is located on Inman Parkway. Ahrens said he could “get by” with one building if he had a big enough apparatus bay, though.
The town is reluctant to buy property because it is pricey, so the discussion centered on whether the new building should be constructed on the east or west location.
Some supervisors were against moving the primary station toward the east because that would result in longer response times for the west side's more rural population.
Chairman Greg Groves and Supervisors Shannon Ladwig and Dick LaMonte agreed with Ahrens, who said, “If you build one, this is the spot to build it.”
Town Administrator Robert Museus disagreed because the City of Beloit surrounds the primary fire station on three sides and will most likely encircle the property entirely. Building toward the southwest isn't an option, he said, because of the environmental sensitivity there.
Museus argued the station should be built closer to the town's population, which is to the north and northeast. Most of the ambulance calls are sent east because that's where the majority of the population is, including the elderly who need emergency services more often.
“What we have is an ambulance service that fights fires on the side,” Museus said.
Wherever the town builds, Ahrens said access to roadway going north, south, east and west is key, as is having someplace to train. A training tower and survive alive house sit on the South Afton Road property, and neighbors have grown accustomed to firefighters practicing at night. If the department were to move training facilities to Inman Parkway, residents may not be as accepting, he said.
But, Museus noted, the training facilities don't necessarily need to be on the station's property.
Once the board decides where to put a station it will have to decide what to build and how to finance it.
Whatever the decision, LaMonte was adamant to pursue the project.
“I don't want to keep gambling putting the fire station off,” he said. “I feel for the taxpayer Š but it's not going to improve in the next 10 years, and we cannot survive the next 10 years in this way.”
As the Town of Beloit Board of Supervisors began discussions Wednesday about building a new fire station board members disagreed about where the facility should go, so they charged Fire Chief Dennis Ahrens to return next month with a recommendation.
The fire station at the intersection of South Afton and Newark roads served as the meeting's backdrop so that the supervisors could tour the facilities.
Built in 1956, the station has undergone several expansions. For example, the training room was once the fire chief's living quarters, and a breezeway has long been transformed into an area for storage of gear.
“This building is not the Taj Mahal,” Supervisor David Townsend said. “It works for now. It could be station No. 2.”
Indeed, the Town of Beloit operates with two fire stations; the secondary is located on Inman Parkway. Ahrens said he could “get by” with one building if he had a big enough apparatus bay, though.
The town is reluctant to buy property because it is pricey, so the discussion centered on whether the new building should be constructed on the east or west location.
Some supervisors were against moving the primary station toward the east because that would result in longer response times for the west side's more rural population.
Chairman Greg Groves and Supervisors Shannon Ladwig and Dick LaMonte agreed with Ahrens, who said, “If you build one, this is the spot to build it.”
Town Administrator Robert Museus disagreed because the City of Beloit surrounds the primary fire station on three sides and will most likely encircle the property entirely. Building toward the southwest isn't an option, he said, because of the environmental sensitivity there.
Museus argued the station should be built closer to the town's population, which is to the north and northeast. Most of the ambulance calls are sent east because that's where the majority of the population is, including the elderly who need emergency services more often.
“What we have is an ambulance service that fights fires on the side,” Museus said.
Wherever the town builds, Ahrens said access to roadway going north, south, east and west is key, as is having someplace to train. A training tower and survive alive house sit on the South Afton Road property, and neighbors have grown accustomed to firefighters practicing at night. If the department were to move training facilities to Inman Parkway, residents may not be as accepting, he said.
But, Museus noted, the training facilities don't necessarily need to be on the station's property.
Once the board decides where to put a station it will have to decide what to build and how to finance it.
Whatever the decision, LaMonte was adamant to pursue the project.
“I don't want to keep gambling putting the fire station off,” he said. “I feel for the taxpayer Š but it's not going to improve in the next 10 years, and we cannot survive the next 10 years in this way.”
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