City of Brunswick moves forward with possibly building a new centralized fire station

BRUNSWICK — The city is working toward putting a bond issue on a future ballot for the construction of a new centralized fire station in the city. Brunswick Fire Chief Greg Glauner provided an update on the potential fire station during Brunswick's Committee of the Whole meeting. The proposed station would be at 1094 Hadcock Road and would be 25,790 square feet on 5 acres of land. Finance Director Todd Fischer said the goal is for the average homeowner to pay less than $100 per year toward the bond issue. The city estimates that the project will cost about $12 million, and the bond would last 20 years. Brunswick currently has two fire stations. Station 1 is on Center Road while Station 2 is on Grafton Road. Glauner said one advantage of having one centralized station is the fire department would have the ability to respond to three calls simultaneously. "Now we can only respond to two without calling for mutual aid," he said. "(The new station) would reduce the response time dramatically when responding to a second or third call." A new station would include an approximately 1,300-square-foot training room, he said. The room could be used as an emergency operation center, a warming or cooling shelter and more. There are other advantages of having a new fire station, Glauner said. The building could accommodate a modern fire apparatus, and it would allow both male and female firefighters to have more privacy. The current building has beds that pull down from the wall in a compact dorm, and there is only one shower per station. "I'm just very happy that we now have accommodations for females and women in our city," Councilwoman-at-Large Kristy Piper said. Ward 3 Councilman Brandon Lambert said last year he went on a tour of the fire stations and was surprised by the conditions of Station 1. "I was stunned by how deplorable the quarters were, and I was really sad that we've gone this long without being able to do anything for them," he said. "I decided right then and there that I had to champion that cause at the very least. If I could do just one thing as a councilperson for my first term, it would be to try to push a fire station to the people to vote on." An improved building could also help retain the staff, Glauner said. "I really focus a lot on the citizen's safety more than I do any accommodations for the firefighters, but in reality, it's hard now to retain firefighters," he said. "There's been a lack of interest in the fire and police service." The city has a contract with Chagrin Valley Engineering to do a property survey, Glauner said. On the week of Jan. 15, the city will have conceptual drawings of what the possible building would look like. Law Director Ken Fisher said the next step is for City Council to adopt a resolution of necessity that states information such as the estimated average interest rate and the maximum number of years the bond could last. The city plans to put the resolution on the agenda for the next meeting. Later, the information will be sent to the Medina County auditor and the Medina County Board of Elections, Fisher said. The bond issue must be submitted to the board of elections no later than 90 days before the election, and the deadline for the May primary is Feb. 1. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.