Officials throw cold water on county-city firehouse plan

Two Port Washington officials said Tuesday they do not believe a joint city-county firehouse project is feasible, even as Ozaukee County officials assured the city that there is enough space at the Justice Center to construct a fire station and storage facility.

“I just don’t see it on this piece of property,” Fire Chief Mark Mitchell told the Common Council. “I think that site is just too small for what we really need.”
Mitchell said the fire station taskforce devoted hours to studying the issue before recommending a firehouse, which is estimated to cost $5 million, be built on one of two sites along Highway 33 — a recommendation he said is being overshadowed by the county’s idea of a joint facility.

“Now I think we’re trying to hurry up something that isn’t going to work,” Mitchell said, adding his comments reflect “the strong opinion” of many members of the department.

Mayor Marty Becker, who has spearheaded the firehouse initiative, concurred.

“I’ve looked at this (Justice Center) site so many times. I just don’t see the room,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll work.

“The concept of working together is good. But unless we could get some extra land to the south, it’s just too small. We have these big trucks and we want to have drive-through bays, which would take up more room.”

But Ozaukee County Administrator Jason Dzwinel and Policy and Budget Analyst Jason Wittek said there is adequate space for a joint facility on 3-1/2 acres of land in the southwest corner of the county-owned Justice Center parking lot.

A 30,000-square-foot facility with 5,000 of outdoor storage space would fit on the parcel, they said, adding that additional space may be found if they reconfigured the parking stalls.

“That could be part of the planning,” Dzwinel said.

The proposed plan does not take into consideration any shared space, such as a community room that could be used for training purposes, they added.

The fire station taskforce had identified the need for a 15,000 to 20,000-square-foot facility on three to five acres near the intersection of highways LL and 33, the county’s study noted, while the county is looking at a 10,000-square-foot building and outdoor storage space.

The county’s study showed a rectangle fitting in the parking lot, but Dzwinel said that doesn’t reflect a building configuration.

“This just demonstrates a 30,000 square-foot building will fit,” he said.

The study also noted that the entrance and exit onto Highway LL may need to be reconfigured to accommodate a drive-though facility for the fire department.

“The county’s willing to work on this project,” Dzwinel said. “I think projects of this nature are generally received very well by the County Board.”

Both Sheriff Jim Johnson and County Board Chairman Lee Schlenvogt are on board with a joint facility, he said.

When asked what the advantages of a joint project are, Dzwinel said there will be cost savings, especially since facilities such as a community room could be shared, and noted that the Sheriff’s Office would be just feet away, providing added safety and security.

Having ambulance services that close would also benefit the Sheriff’s department.

When asked about drawbacks to a joint project, Dzwinel said, “I don’t see any.”

Although Mitchell and Becker both support construction of a fire station on the former Schanen farm at the corner of Jackson Road and Highway 33, Dzwinel said the county “does not have a strong desire to construct storage at any other location than the Justice Center. 

“I do not think we can dismiss an alternative location without some discussion, but there would need to be very compelling benefits to outweigh those that we would see form constructing a facility on the Justice Center land,” he said.

City Administrator Mark Grams acknowledged the Justice Center site is tight, but noted that there is some grassy land to the south that could be incorporated into the plan.

Planning will be crucial, said Ald. Dan Benning, a member of the fire station taskforce, who said there are critical questions  that have to be answered about whether soils in the area are sufficient for building, whether a firehouse with drive-through bays could fit on the land and whether there is room for future expansion.

“The devil’s in the details is where I’m at right now,” he said.

But Grams said there shouldn’t be a need to expand in the future.

“How much expansion do you really see?” he asked. “Our population growth isn’t going to be that much.”

Mitchell has said the department has enough equipment to serve a community of 20,000 people, Grams added, saying, “We’re never going to reach that. Unless we take over Saukville, this is pretty much it.”

Although the Common Council took no action, Grams said he plans to see if Bray Architects, which had conducted a fire station study five years ago, could update that and tweak it to accommodate a joint building.

If not, he said, he would see if a request for proposals for the fire station authorized last week by the Police and Fire Commission could be amended to add a joint facility as an alternate.