NEW DETAILS: Washington Twp. fire station plans address traffic issues near Centerville High School

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

CENTERVILLE — Plans for a new Washington Twp. fire station include a 14,500 square feet facility on the land’s east side that would share design attributes with nearby Centerville High School.

Building the $6 million Fire Station 41 on that part of the 6 acres bought from Centerville City Schools at 716 E. Franklin St. will ease traffic issues, documents say.

“Fire apparatus exiting the building to Franklin Street would be least affected by traffic stopped at the intersection to the high school entrance,” according to plans by App Architecture of Englewood.

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

“Returning fire apparatus will use a newly created entry driveway to the site, which will be aligned with Lake Glen Court to the north, creating an orderly intersection,” plans by Timothy J. Bement of App say.

Architecturally, “the contemporary appearance of the building’s exterior form, massing and materials takes its design cues from adjacent Centerville High School,” according to records.

The new station will replace the current Maple Avenue site, a structure more than 50 years old. It will be paid for by a continuous, 2.85-mill fire services levy Centerville and township voters approved in 2019.

The levy, expected to generate more than $5 million a year, is also to pay for more full-time firefighters, Chief Scott Kujawa has said.

Fire station documents are set to be reviewed by the Centerville Planning Commission in a Tuesday night work session. Washington Twp. Administrator Jesse Lightle said officials would like to start construction next year.

The new site was chosen “by analyzing response time data,” Lightle has said. The current facility lacks direct access to a main thoroughfare and is the fire department’s oldest of five stations, officials said.

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