Marysville officials are looking at exploring options for a third fire station. A feasibility study recommended putting the station in the southeast portion of the city on Industrial Parkway. Stars on the map represent the two current and one proposed fire stations. Shaded areas indicate the areas that could be reached within four minutes, which is the recommendation of the National Fire Protection Association for response time. (Graphic submitted)
Marysville officials are moving forward with the planning process for a third fire station.
In 2018, the City of Marysville commissioned a study on the need and feasibility of a third fire station.
Before the group began the conversation, City Manager Terry Emery stressed the fire station is four years away, “at the very least.”
“I don’t want anyone to think we are looking for a third station in the next six months,” Emery said.
The study looked at measurables that could help determine if another fire station were needed. Those triggers included call volume, average response time and coverage area.
Riley said the said the city has seen a 50% increase in call volume from 2009 to 2019. He said the city will soon be at nearly 120 runs per firefighter, above the number used to determine it was time to build a second fire station more than a decade ago. He said that because of the number of calls the department responds to, “our response time is actually getting slower.”
He said the city responds to so many runs, mutual aid from other departments is often needed to cover Marysville. He said the average response time has gone from just over five minutes in 2017 to nearly seven and a half minutes last year.
Riley said the national standard is for the first wave of responders to be able to reach any emergency within four minutes.
“There is a large portion of the city where that cannot happen,” Riley explained.
The response area is also a concern for the city. Riley said the average coverage area for a two-firehouse community is 13.3 square miles and 25.25 for a three-firehouse community. Marysville Division of Fire covers 87 square miles, including Paris, Dover and Darby townships.
Each of the city’s Public Safety/Public Service Committee members agreed with the study’s assessment that a third station is necessary. Riley agreed.
Officials said that in 2009, the city underwent a similar study. At that time, the city looked at 19 other cities for comparison. Marysville leaders focused on five — Chillicothe, Forrest Park, Sidney, Troy and Wadsworth — that were “very extremely close” to Marysville.
Human Resources Director Brian Dostanko and Riley both stressed that two of the five have already built a third and the others are “in the same boat” as Marysville planning for the next station.
Riley said the most recent study indicated the city should consider the station, “whenever we can financially support it.”
“As we all know, the city is going to continue to grow and infrastructure is needed and not only do you need to plan for infrastructure, but we also need to plan for the finances,” Riley said.
Officials estimate the station will cost between $6 and $6.1 million, depending on the cost of land acquisition.
Officials said they could consider using land inside the city’s Innovation Park, which would have no cost.
Officials estimated constructing and furnishing the building at $4.25 million, based on a similar project last year in Delaware. It would have a design cost of more than $1.06 million.
It would cost the city an estimated $701,000 annually to man the station and $39,500 to operate it.
Officials said there would be no initial equipment cost as the city would use existing vehicles and simply extend the life.
Dostanko, who led the discussion, said that while no finance option is off the table, raising taxes would be “a last resort.”
“I can’t say that enough,” Dostanko said. “This is certainly the last resort.”
He explained that growth should actually pay for the project. Dostanko said that based on current averages and projections, as well as the portion of city revenue dedicated to fire protection, added income tax generated by city growth should be able to cover the operational expenses over the next 10 years.
The study recommended putting the third fire station in the southeast portion of the city on Industrial Parkway. Dostanko said that area is “not incredibly populated but it is getting there.”
Emery said the city could look at allowing other departments to use the site also, specifically mentioning a satellite police station. He said he has already spoken to the police chief, who would be on board with the idea.
Dostanko said the next step would be to take the matter to the October work session for the whole council to consider.
He said that when the census is released, the city will have a better grasp of the growth in the region. Officials said they would like to have funding in place in 2022 and architects and design consultants by 2023. According to the timeline, the city could break ground in 2024, “notwithstanding unforeseen financial interests.”
The third station would be operational in 2025.
“Based on everything you are hearing right now, we will be more than ready,” Emery said.
Emery said that if development dictated and finances allowed, the time schedule could be expedited. Riley said that even if work began today, the project would take 24-30 months.