Fire Station No. 1 gets approval for renovations and expansions

WEST BLOOMFIELD — The West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution to use  $721,800 from the public safety capital fund for the expansion and renovation of Fire Station No. 1 at a Township Board meeting April 14.

The resolution was approved with a 6-0 vote. Township Supervisor Jonathan Warshay was absent from the meeting.

“This is a big project and we understand that big projects have dollar signs attached to them,” Township Clerk Debbie Binder said at the meeting.  “This is something our community needs. It’s a clear need if you see inside the building.”

Fire Station No. 1 was dedicated in 1972, according to the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society’s website.

According to Binder, it has exceeded its “useful life.”

The Fire Department has an annual open house where the community is invited to see the assets of the station, according to Binder.

“It is a longstanding resource for the community,” Binder said. “We make sure everyone sees the outside and the fire truck bays. But they don’t always see inside and see the age of the building.”

With West Bloomfield firefighters helping to protect and serve the community, Binder would like to see them have a more  “inhabitable space” because they sleep at the station.

Township Treasurer Teri Weingarden added her perspective about the station.

“It doesn’t have much usable space, the way they have it configured. It’s like the whole lower level is not really usable,” She said. “So I think what would be great  … to improve the entrance a little bit, but also maximize the space and the cleanliness.”

With firefighters coming in contact with hazardous materials, Weingarden said, “We want to make sure they aren’t bringing that back into the station and inhaling those particles.”

From the treasurer’s perspective, this is a very productive way of spending the funds.

“When we received our dollars, we did it in a very good way through the auditor’s suggestions,” Weingarden said. “This is the type of project that we’d like to use some of those free allocated funds for. I think this is just a really good use of township money.”

The Township’s core design committee evaluated four design proposals and interviewed the four teams.

Cunningham-Limp, located in Novi, was awarded the contract to perform pre-construction, construction, and post-construction operations.