Proposal seeking funds for Tipton fire house
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By Helen Smith | Tuesday, May 15, 2007 |
TIPTON, Iowa — A bond referendum will be held today for the city to borrow up to $2.3 million for a new fire station on property the city owns one block south of the existing station.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If the proposal passes, half of the cost will come from tax increment financing, or TIF, funds, and the rest from property taxes. Homeowners with a taxable valuation of $100,000 will pay $62 a year for 15 years, and commercial property owners with the same valuation will pay $135.
Fire Chief John Miller said new firefighting technology has resulted in longer and taller equipment, and the fire station built in 1972 is not adequate. Doors of the bays are too short, and the length of the trucks leaves little space for the volunteer firefighters to don their gear, which hangs on the wall behind the trucks.
Miller said the city had to pay extra to have the last truck they bought modified to fit in the station. Lack of storage space is a problem Miller mentioned, as well as lack of space by the station for firefighters to park when responding to a call.
“One truck has to sit out because there is no room. The rescue boat has to be kept in the ambulance building,” said Kevin Kofron, a firefighter on the building committee. Fire calls averaged 42 per year when the current station was built, compared with 88 now.
Plans are for the new station to measure 16,800 square feet, compared with 4,255 square feet for the present station, and 1,125 square feet in the one before it, which was in City Hall where the police station is housed now. The building committee sought a design for a facility to meet the needs of Tipton for 50 years.
If the referendum passes, the vacated station will be used by other city departments for additional office and operating space. A handicapped-accessible city council meeting room may be included.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
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