The Brownwood City Council unanimously approved city owned property at the corner of Adams Street and Congress Avenue, next to the Lehnis Railroad Museum, as the location for the construction of a new central fire station.
The newly approved site at Adams Street and Congress will place the new fire station where the existing Red Cross building is located as well as part of the RV park behind the building. The City of Brownwood owns both parcels of land. Officials said that the Red Cross building would be demolished to make way for the new fire station. The cost of the station would be between $3 and $3.5 million.
The vote was tabled in August by the city council after several citizens urged the council to look at other possible locations before moving forward. Several residents again expressed opposition to the proposed location, largely because of preferring the station being more accessible to main thoroughfares.
“I still don’t believe that that location is the best location; I’m not sure that the present location is the best location,” said former city councilman Ed McMillian. “I still think there are going to be problems; it’s off the beaten path.”
Architectural firm Brown Reynolds & Watford (BRW) made a detailed presentation during the city council meeting to answer many of the questions about the construction of a new fire station in Brownwood. Ray Holliday and Jennifer Bettiol from the firm outlined several construction and location options for the new proposed station.
Four locations were looked at by BRW and the city after last month’s city council meeting. Two locations, 1001 Main St. (Near St. Mary’s) and 715 Beaver (near Smitty’s BBQ), were eliminated for several reasons.
“Part of the issue, as I understand it, as we tried to find property along Austin Avenue – you have the overpass on one end and the big curve at Cordell so you have a pretty limited space there between those two places,” said Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes. “You have the same problem on Main because you have the Truman Overpass and the curve there around Stokes Brothers and so unfortunately the window on that major thoroughfare is pretty limited and Main is awfully narrow.”
BRW representatives said that the new fire station will be approximately 15,000 square feet and will feature drive-through bays, better safety features, better storages, and would solve health and safety issues. Officials said that the current station, which was built in the 1960’s, has no storage, wiring problems, asbestos within the structure, no insulation, no regular office space, inadequate living space and restrooms for the firefighters, and plumbing issues.
Remodeling at the current location was also an option, but BRW representatives said that it would cost the same and perhaps more to remodel the existing station as it would to build a new one at a different location. To remodel, officials said that the existing building would have to be taken down to its shell, and construction would have to be completed in phases to accommodate the continuing operation of the fire department. Adjacent land would also have to be acquired by the city for the larger facility if it were to be rebuilt at the current location.
“The cost to do the new station versus the old is a wash because of all of the extensive remodeling that we would have to do at the current site and there is land acquisition, so it would cost equal if not more because of the land acquisition,” said Holliday.
Officials also said that traffic congestion and the proximity of the current fire station to the street make it a less desirable location.
Captain Robert Myers of the Brownwood Fire Department addressed the City Council on behalf of members of the fire department who are in favor of the new station. Officials said that firefighters have conducted tests on response times from the newly approved location.
“From my experience, the years I have been a firefighter, where we would be at Congress, I don’t think it would take us that much longer (response time), any more than any other move would be from where we are right now,” Myers said.
Myers emphasized the need of a new fire station as he addressed the council on Tuesday before approval of the location.
“The current station has served a long and useful life. I am proud to have served 21 years of my career in it; however it no longer meets the needs of our department or performs in the best interest of the city,” Myers said. “As a representative of the members of the department, I appreciate your actions and I appreciate the fact that you are looking to build a new fire station.”
