Huber Heights on track to build third fire station

$2.9M plan would improve response times for growing area, city says.


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What: Huber Heights City Council meeting

When: 7 p.m. Monday

Where: City Hall, 6131 Taylorsville Road

Huber Heights officials plan to build a new fire station in the northern part of the city — a project they hope is completed by this time next year.

The city would construct a fire station in the newly-created tax increment financing district in the western portion of Miami County to serve that growing portion of Huber Heights, which includes the Carriage Trails subdivision and multi-family developments.

The new fire station will be 9,000 to 11,000 square feet and cost an estimated $2.9 million to build, according to City Manager Rob Schommer.

Huber Heights City Council is expected Monday night to approve a contract to purchase nearly two acres of land, at a price not to exceed $200,000, south of Parktowne Boulevard and just east of Old Troy Pike to pave the way for the city’s third fire station.

“As we get more homes built in that area of the community, residents should expect and deserve the same quality of response time as other areas of the community,” Schommer said. “We want this to serve the community for decades. We don’t want to build a facility that isn’t built to last or built to serve the increasing needs of the community.”

The city is purchasing the land from Northtowne Apartments LLC, an entity created by Mid-Ohio Development Corp., which is building a $10 million, 152-unit apartment project in the TIF district.

Schommer said the fire station project will go out to public bid, with construction starting by summer and wrapping up a year from now. The new fire station will be built using existing capital funds and TIF dollars from the new district.

“It’s something that’s been needed for quite some time,” said Councilman Mark Campbell, chair of the Administration Committee, which recommended approval last week to buy the land. “Public safety is all about response time, and the addition of a third fire house enables the fire division to evaluate its resources to better serve all of Huber Heights.”

The fire department currently employs about 54 people, Schommer said.

Schommer said a staffing plan is in place to shift existing personnel to the new station, but long-term, the city anticipates adding more fire/EMS and police personnel due to expected growth in northern Huber Heights.

“Our plan is always to continue to support that growth through adding additional resources as we can,” Schommer said.

The new TIF district is the area directly fronting Old Troy Pike at Parktowne Boulevard — a total of 22.6 acres. City Council unanimously approved creating the TIF district Dec. 29.

The TIF district is projected to generate approximately $1.3 million in new TIF revenue over the life of the 30-year TIF.

Mid-Ohio started construction last year on one- and two-bedroom single-story apartments on Parktowne, just east of Old Troy Pike, on more than 20 acres of land.

Roney Murphy, Mid-Ohio Development president, could not be reached for comment to get an update on construction.

The city’s third fire station, Station 25, will be built at 9975 Old Troy Pike on the remaining 1.76 acres. The city’s planning commission approved the lot split earlier this month.

Station 22 is located at 7008 Brandt Pike, and Station 23 is at 7435 Old Troy Pike.

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