Boyceville Fire District reviews plans for $2 million to $3 million fire station
By LeAnn R. Ralph
BOYCEVILLE — Either way, whether it is a one-story building or a two-story building, constructing a new fire station in Boyceville could cost between $2 million and $3 million.
The Boyceville Community Fire District reviewed preliminary plans from Five Bugles Design for a new fire station at the district’s regular monthly meeting February 11.
David Cihasky and Ed Mischefske of Five Bugles Design out of Eau Claire presented preliminary plans for an 11,215 square-foot one-story building and a 7,856 square-foot two story building.
The one-story building would cost an estimated $2.13 million, and the two-story building would cost an estimated $2.7 million, Cihasky said.
The total height on the two-story building would be 45 feet, which is less than the village’s ordinance restricting building height to 50 feet, he said.
The single story building would have a total height of 35 feet, Cihasky said.
Both the one-story and the two-story building would have four equipment bay doors.
The cost of “shell space” in a two-story building that could eventually be used for sleeping quarters for full-time firefighters would be cheaper now than it would be if the fire district waited several years, Cihasky noted.
The extra space on the second story would give the fire district options for the future, Mischefske said, adding that 2.5 acres would be sufficient for the site of a new fire station.
The next step, Cihasky said, would be to determine a budget for a new fire station.
The cost of a new fire station would increase by about $400,000 if the fire district waited another year to build it, Cihasky said.
This year is already extremely busy for construction companies, so the fire district would be in a better position to build the new fire station next year, he said.
The new fire station, in addition to the equipment bay, would include a training room, offices and a map room/dispatch.
Last fall, fire district members agreed that a village-owned site next to the Boyceville Municipal Airport would be the best place to build a new fire station.
The Boyceville Fire District meets next at 6:30 p.m. March 11 at the Boyceville village hall.
Other business
In other business, the Boyceville Community Fire District:
• Accepted the financial report completed by Clifton Larson Allen LLP out of Hudson. According to the financial report, the Boyceville Community Fire District has $254,735 in cash and investment balances.
• Learned from Brian Marlette, Boyceville fire chief, that the Boyceville fire department has gone out on six runs so far this year, including a car accident in the Town of Sheridan, a dryer fire at the Big River Resources ethanol plant, a chimney fire in the Town of Stanton, and mutual aid in Pierce County for a lumber yard fire.