The Saratoga Springs City Council approved the next major steps necessary for the construction of the city’s third Fire and Emergency Services Station, a press release from the city’s Department of Public Safety said today. The project has been discussed, requested, and needed for over 20 years, the release said.
The city council approved the issuance of a bond anticipation note which will enable the city to move forward with the project at this point, accessing about $500,000 in the short term, Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan said in an interview earlier this week.
The total expected cost of the project is $6.7 million, and the full bond to finance the project will be issued next June when the city goes to bond for a number of capital projects.
The location of the station on Henning Road, north of the Union Avenue intersection has been a point of contention since the city started looking for a suitable location for a fire station on the east side of the city. City leadership and candidates running for city offices this year have all gotten on board with the project, though Heidi Owen West was originally party to a lawsuit to stop construction at that location. Owen West is running for mayor as an independent on the Republican Party line.
The 15,500 square foot building, set back about 150 feet from Henning Road at the east end of the Oklahoma horse racing track, includes an Emergency Operations Center, three bays for vehicles, bunk rooms and administrative offices for EMS staff. The building is one storey, with a mezzanine for storage.
The city will lease the property, about 2.4 acres, from the New York Racing Association.
On Tuesday, the council also awarded a contract to Hueber-Breuer Construction Company of Syracuse, NY for planning, design, and construction management services. Construction of the new station is expected to begin in the spring of 2022.
“After so many years of hard work by the City Council, I am pleased to announce that we are finally taking these major steps to build a third station that will enable the City to provide public safety coverage for the long under-served eastern plateau,” Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton said in the statement.