Springfield Business Journal_2021-06-07

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 9 NEWS JUNE 7-13, 2021 GOVERNMENT by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net Aside from the Springfield Fire De- partment’s standard tasks to help keep the community safe, the next several years also will be busy with capital improvement projects currently surpassing $10 million. Those include con- struction of four new fire stations – two of which are set to be operational over the next couple of years. Work on fire station Nos. 4, 7 and 13 already is budgeted at roughly $9.3 million. Design services, bidding and construction for Fire Station No. 14 will be phased in as funding becomes available, said city spokesper- son Melissa Haase. Fire Department Chief David Pen- nington said the projects are possible because of the city’s level property tax, which voters renewed indefinitely in 2017. The tax generated $9.5 million in fiscal 2020 for capital projects via 27 cents per $100 of assessed value on property owned in the city. “That was supported by the com- munity resoundingly and we’re so appreciative of that,” Pennington said. “That does a lot of stuff for us. In addition to building fire stations, it provides for lifecycle replacement of our fleet.” Station needs The department broke ground in April for Fire Station No. 4, 2423 N. Dela- ware Ave., at the boundary of the Doling and Robber- son neighborhoods. The roughly $3 million project, slated for completion in May 2022, is on the site of the for- mer 1968-built station that was demol- ished in March, said Jennifer Swan, city architect for the Public Works Department. Nesbitt Construction Inc. is serv- ing as general contractor of the 6,000-square-foot project designed by Esterly Schneider & Associates Inc. Officials say a general contractor is yet to be selected for the other fire station projects and Esterly, Schneider & As- sociates is architect for three of them. The fourth project has no architect at this time. Fire Station No. 7, at 2129 E. Sun- shine St., also is targeted for replace- ment. It was built in 1958, according to the city website. Demolition and construction work is expected to start in spring 2022 and the facility will be operational by 2023, Pennington said. Plans call for the addition of two fire stations: No. 13, at 1900 W. Col- lege St., and No. 14, which will be built on 2.7 acres at the northeast corner of West Chestnut Expressway and North Four new fire stations are among the Springfield Fire Department’s commitment through 2026 Jennifer Swan: Fire station projects are using pay-as- you-go financing. MCKENZIE ROBINSON The city’s level property tax is paying for a “lifecycle replacement” of the Fire Department’s fleet, says Chief David Pennington. BUILDING ANEW Springfield Fire Department Chief David Pennington expects Fire Station No. 7 on East Sunshine Street to be demolished next year and replaced in 2023. See FIRE on page 14 IGNITING INVESTMENT