At a special meeting of the Oxford Township Board of Trustees on Sept. 21, the board approved a $164,100 bid to start Phase 1 of Oxford Fire Department Station #3.

Starting this week, crews from Saradan Construction will start clearing and land balancing property for the new fire station, to be located on N. Lapeer Rd., north of Metamora Rd. There were two other bids received for this work, one from Webster Excavating ($172,300) and the other from BnV Earthmovers ($184,504). Saradan Construction is located on Lakeville Rd. in the township.

After tree clearing, rough grading the next phase of this project will be to work with the Michigan Department of Transportation. “For all of the right of way details to make way for the approaches and Lapeer Road crossover,” Assistant Oxford Fire Chief Matt Majestic said. “Once we have that in place, we will more than likely look to sink a well to create a water source for us to use for the area. I believe it will be in that stage for some time afterwards.”

The building of Station #3, according to Majestic, is still a “couple of years” down the road.

“We would work with the (Township) Board to make sure we are meeting the needs of the community as it continues its growth, while also taking advantage of lower costs now compared to those three to five years from now for preparing the property. Our current real need is to have a reliable and accessible water source for the area. The first two phases should provide us with that source,” he said.

After the board accepted the Saradan bid unanimously (only trustee Rod Charles was absent), Supervisor Jack Curtis reminded those in the township hall that the bidding process for all township projects “should be in public ” so as not to jeopardize future Federal or State grants. — Don Rush