By Tara Figurski
Staff Writer
Truro Township voters approved a levy that will allow the township to construct a new fire station, replacing its existing fire station at 6900 Main St.
Voters approved the levy 52 percent to 48 percent, according to unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections.
The 2.5 mill levy is a five-year levy that will generate $1.1 million annually, township officials said. The levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $88 per year in taxes.
“We are feeling (appreciative) that the residents would support it,” said Township Administrator Jason Nicodemus.
Township Trustee Pat Mahaffey said he’s excited the levy passed.
“I think it will be a great thing for everybody – the firefighters, the community the city of Reynoldsburg,” he said. “We are going to be improving the streetscape. We are going to build a nice building there.”
Nicodemus said township officials are in the preliminary stages of developing a time frame for constructing the new station. He said officials will meet with architects and choose an architect for the project. The architect will help identify a timeline.
“We will be going through the process of interviewing,” he said. “It will be dependent on cost.”
Nicodemus said the expected price tag for the new fire station is $5 million, the same amount generated by the levy.
Once an architect is chosen there will be preliminary drawings for the new station and input from the township and fire department on the design, Nicodemus said.
Mahaffey said there have been preliminary discussions with architects. The township will not receive any funding from the levy until March. In the meantime he’s hoping to conduct a required architecture study and cost estimates for tearing down the existing facility.
“I want to be ready to hit the ground running,” Mahaffey said.
Nicodemus said big concern for the new facility is safety. For example, the existing station doesn’t have an exhaust system or ventilation system, he said. He also wants to see a separate storage room for firefighters’ turn-out gear. Currently the gear is stored in the same room with the firetrucks. The diesel fumes and ultraviolet rays are detrimental to the gear.
The new station will have more showers for firefighters. The current station only has two showers for the five to eight fire fighters on-call for one shift. The staff has to come back, clean their gear and decontaminate themselves after going on a run.
“With only two showers and the amount of staff we have, that can take a lot of time,” he said.
The Main Street fire station started as a Jmart grocery store. The township took over the facility in 1975 and retrofitted the fire station.
“I’m very appreciative of the residents going out and voting,” Nicodemus said. “We are very elated with the results and are very thankful for the residential support.”
