By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After years of discussion, Bowling Green officials have asked City Council to consider building two new fire stations and significantly renovating the police station.
A meeting was held Thursday evening to report on the results of a study by The Collaborative and KZF Designs, piggybacking on data collected by the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association.
Based on current fire station building conditions, the number of emergency calls, and the response times, it was recommended that the city adopt a three station model for the fire division. The Pearl Street station would be maintained. The Court Street station would be decommissioned. And two new fire stations would be constructed to optimize response times in the city.
As for the police station, it will remain in the historic building it occupies in the downtown. But it needs extensive renovations in order to meet the needs of the public and police division employees, the architectural team reported.
“Of all of the things citizens have come to expect from us,” Mayor Mike Aspacher said, “public safety really is the most basic.”
“That really is the core responsibility of local government,” Aspacher said.
And as the city grows, the demands increase. But response times cannot, if the city wants to provide best chances of survival for people and property.
The number of fire and EMS calls have tripled, from 1,095 calls for service in 1992, to 3,418 calls in 2022.
So in an effort to keep response times fast, the city will look at building a new fire headquarters station on the north end of the city, perhaps in the area of the Woodland Mall. A satellite station is suggested in the southeastern side of the city. The Pearl Street station will remain.
According to Ray Micham, from The Collaborative, the headquarters station will require about five acres of land, while the satellite station will need about 3.5 acres.
Micham said a number of sites are being considered.
The stations will all have living quarters, and be designed for “getting from bed to the front seat as quick as possible,” said Scott Csendes, from KZF Architecture.
Following are some of the factors under consideration:
- Staff has doubled since the Court Street station was built in 1984.
- That station was built for an all-male workforce.
- Vehicles are much larger. Soon, new fire engines will not fit inside the bays.
- New fire stations are now generally limited to one story to speed response and meet ADA guidelines.
- Fire stations are now designed with multiple zones and air exchange to reduce exposure to carcinogens.
The police station has many different challenges. While the site is not in question, exactly how to turn it into an efficient and accessible facility is still unknown. Currently, a parking area takes up much of the police station’s first floor, and a firing range is on the third floor.
The building is 130 years old, and until 1984 housed both police and fire divisions.
While demands on the police division grow, the space they have to operate in is pretty set in stone. Calls for service have doubled from approximately 15,000 in 1984, to 30,000 in 2024. In that same period, the number of officers has gone from 28 to 42, and the number of dispatchers has grown from nine to 11.
The architects identified the following shortcomings of the current police station:
- Security – Facility does not provide the current recommended layered security separation/isolation strategies for a modern police headquarters.
- Transparency and engagement – Public engagement and a transparent image for the police station is not possible in the current setting.
- Disjointed operational configuration – Individual units are spread out across the building, on multiple floors, reducing efficiency of daily operations and effectiveness of staff.
- Evidence processing and storage – Evidence processing areas lack the appropriate equipment and functional spaces to address the increased demands of these operations.
- Firing range – Range lacks appropriate ballistic and HVAC filtration systems, creating health and safety risks.
The recommendations to the city suggested the following changes to the police station, within its existing footprint: restore historic façade, renovate interior, improve public access and ADA accommodations, address IT and evidence space, and reconfigure to address modern policing.
“This is not a real straightforward project,” Csendes said. “But it’s time to do it.”
Council member Joel O’Dorisio asked about the costs of renovating an old building as compared to building a new structure. Renovations often cost less per square foot than building new, Aspacher said.
There are other factors in play, the mayor said. In 1984, when the police station underwent major renovations when the fire station moved out, the community voiced a desire to save the historic building.
“We’re mindful of that priority expressed back then,” Aspacher said.
“We’re committed to this building,” Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter said.
And the police division sees the importance of maintaining a presence in the downtown, the mayor added.
Officials hope to narrow down potential locations, designs, and devise budgets and financing before coming back to council, possibly in the first quarter of 2025.
As for a possible timeline for breaking ground, there is no projected date.
“We want to be very meticulous in our planning,” to make sure the buildings meet the needs of today and the future, Aspacher said. “We want to make sure we get it right. We want to be good stewards of taxpayer money.”
