City of Brunswick gives update on new fire station

BRUNSWICK — The city of Brunswick is currently working on the administrative aspects of constructing a new fire station, with the goal of breaking ground for it in 2024. City Manager Carl DeForest said one of the next steps for the city is hiring one of the applicants to do underwriting services for the debt. Brunswick will also select a construction manager at risk to oversee the project and finalize a contract with App Architecture. "Then what'll happen is the construction manager at risk will work with the architect folks to design the building (and) make sure that we're using the right materials and the most cost-efficient materials to build the station," he said. Also, before construction can begin, the project must go through the board of zoning appeals process to determine if any variances are needed and what those variances would be, DeForest said. "We're doing all the administrative stuff in order to get the project queued up," he said. Ideally, the city will break ground for the new station next spring and officially be open in late-spring 2025, DeForest said. The timeline for the project is still flexible. It will be located at 1094 Hadcock Road, which is in the center of the city. He said a centralized station will allow the city to respond to more calls simultaneously and rely on mutual aid less. "We want to be a little bit more responsive to our community's needs," DeForest said. Originally, last year's budget included $3.5 million to go toward upgrading both of the existing fire stations, he said. Instead, Brunswick City Council members suggested building a new station because the current ones were in poor condition. Then, in May, the bond issue to construct a new station passed by over 60 percent. "I should always thank the community for their support because without them, we couldn't do this," DeForest said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.