City applies for state funds for Public Safety Facility

The proposed Public Safety Facility, which would house both the fire and ambulance services, took a baby step toward realization  last week when the city council approved an application for state funds.

 

With the council’s blessing, the city is requesting $1.3 million in state funding in 2014 to help fund the proposed Public Safety Facility  to be located east of the Dollar General store on Milwaukee Avenue.

 

The rationale for requesting the funds pointed out the lack of space to house the city’s emergency vehicles (think ladder trucks, ambulances) that have progressively grown over the past 40 years. 

 

“Built in 1974, the City’s only Fire Hall and Ambulance Service building does not have the capacity to house all the emergency vehicles,” the application stated. “Currently five fire trucks are stored at another location within the city, which the City of Montgomery pays rent for. The vehicles stored in the current building have to be parked a specific way and distances from each other to fit them all in.”

 

The existing Public Safety Facility is only 12,056 square feet. The square footage for the proposed facility swells to 20,272 square feet.

 

If approved, the city would begin construction on the facility on November 1, 2014, with an expected occupancy date of August 31, 2015.

 

Currently, the project is in the preliminary conceptual design stage.

The fire and ambulance services provide services to 10 townships and cities in Le Sueur and Rice counties. Approximately 2,300 households are serviced, as well as numerous businesses and major industries, like Seneca Foods, United Steel Products and Tri-City United Schools in Montgomery.