Ortonville–The Brandon Fire Department is looking at property on M-15 for a new fire station.
Last Monday, Fire Chief Bob McArthur received unanimous approval from the village council to have an appraisal, cost of which is not to exceed $3,000, done on a 14-acre parcel of land adjacent to MacPhee’s Restaurant. The Brandon Township board will vote on the appraisal April 18.
McArthur and the fire department are interested in the township purchasing the property for a new main fire station.
‘The move for this station is a safety issue,? McArthur said. ‘If it wasn’t for that, we’d be fine. If it was just a size issue, we could expand here.?
The main fire station has been at 53 South St. since 1979 and was remodeled in 1989. The location was chosen because fire officials at the time wished to stay in the village (the prior location was where the current township offices are on Mill Street.) However, McArthur says, at that time the volume of calls was low– about 150 per year. Fire Station #1 now responds to 500 calls a year.
‘The real concern is that we are responding out of the village in an emergency mode at some bad times during the day,? said McArthur. ‘When school is getting out is the absolute worst. There are kids on the street, parents picking up kids, buses, etc.?
Brandon Intermediate School is located on South Street. Varsity Drive, leading to H.T. Burt and Harvey Swanson elementary schools, is also accessed by South Street. Additionally, McArthur said within the last few weeks, there have been two close calls with vehicles near the A&W Drive-In, 470 South St.
McArthur said concern with the fire station’s location has been present for about two years, but in the past six months has become more serious.
In a projected 15-year budget the fire chief has created, a new fire hall could be built in 8-10 years without any new taxes being levied on residents. If necessary, it could be built sooner with loans and still no new taxes. Proceeds from a sale of the South Street building, which McArthur estimates could be valued at over a million dollars, would also go towards building costs. His immediate concern is that the property be purchased.
‘If we don’t get the property soon, it may not be available,? he said. ‘The property next to MacPhee’s is the only big chunk of property left in the township that is close to the village and on M-15.?
Township supervisor Ron Lapp is interested in securing the property.
‘It makes sense if we want to relocate Fire Station #1 in the future so we don’t have emergency responses through the village,? he said, adding that an appraisal will let the board know if what the seller is asking is ‘in the ballpark.?
The M-15 location is attractive because it would allow fast response times for a growing township. Because emergency vehicles have to go to M-15, McArthur says, they might as well start there.
Gray Enterprises currently owns the property, which is zoned light industrial. The front two acres of the property is wetlands, but there are 12 acres on which to build. He adds that in addition to a new fire station there would be enough room for several more municipal buildings, such as new township offices or a police station.
‘The property will be large enough to accomodate more than the fire station,? McArthur said. ‘At the pace the township is growing, somewhere down the line we may need larger and better placed facilities. There is no plan to relocate everyone now, but if we don’t get the property now, there can be no move later.?
‘We could move out there today, just on safety issues, and it would be a benefit to the community.?