Golden Valley Narrows Down Location of New Fire Station
Residents in Golden valley who raised concerns about the possibility of a new fire station being built in their neighborhood received news they were hoping for.
The Golden Valley City Council has decided not to build a new, centrally-located fire station on any site that’s currently occupied by someone’s home.
Rather than acquiring residential homes in the Scheid Park neighborhood through the process of eminent domain, council members decided that placing the station on one of three commercial sites along Duluth Street, or a baseball field at Schaper Park, would make the most sense.
The proposed sites are:
Spring Gate Shopping Center (the current site of Feist Automotive)
Bassett Creek Office/Medical
MnDOT West Metro Headquarters (Contingent on MnDOT sale/exchange)
Schaper Park Ballfield
Golden Valley will soon switch over to a duty crew staffing model which requires firefighters to be on staff 24/7.
“Now we have very clear direction,” said Golden Valley Fire Chief John Crelly. “We know where we can start looking, we know who we can approach, and that gives us now the ability to really explore this project rather than just conversationally. But really getting into the nuts and bolts of each of the sites.”
Golden Valley is in the process of switching over to a duty crew staffing model, which requires firefighters to be on staff 24/7.
In order to do that, they would have to shut down two of their three fire stations and build a new one with modern day amenities.
The estimated price tag is $17 million.
Related: Golden Valley Neighborhood Raises Concerns About Fire Station Plan
