Council notes: Holland readies for new fire station build

Carolyn Muyskens, The Holland Sentinel
·3 min read
A gavel for the City of Holland rests in the city council chambers Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 located at 270 South River Ave in downtown Holland.
A gavel for the City of Holland rests in the city council chambers Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 located at 270 South River Ave in downtown Holland.

HOLLAND — Holland City Council members took another step toward a big investment in Holland's fire department.

With its action Wednesday, approving a notice of intent to issue up to $18 million in bonds, council put the community on notice about its plans to build a new fire station to replace the Waverly Road fire station and to renovate the Kollen Park fire station.

Publication of the notice of intent to issue bonds starts the clock on a referendum period of 45 days. Within that period, a member of the public can ask for the bond issue to be placed on the ballot if he or she can find support from 10 percent of the registered voters in Holland in a petition drive.

More: Council hires architect, manager to build new fire station

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At Wednesday's meeting, Holland finance director Lynn McCammon said $18 million was the maximum amount the city could issue in bonds but said the city intended to go lower than that. The number on the notice of intent was set conservatively high to account for market volatility, McCammon told the council.

The exterior of the Holland Fire Department's Waverly Road stations sits Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, located at 761 South Waverly Road. After 50 years of operation, the City of Holland will begin construction of a new Waverly Raod station. Holland City Council hired construction managers and architects this past Wednesday.
The exterior of the Holland Fire Department's Waverly Road stations sits Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, located at 761 South Waverly Road. After 50 years of operation, the City of Holland will begin construction of a new Waverly Raod station. Holland City Council hired construction managers and architects this past Wednesday.

The proposed fire station would be a five-bay, 20,000-square-foot station at the corner of 32nd Street and Waverly Road, replacing the 1970s-era two-bay station that is used today.

The fire station would include modern living areas for the firefighters, with single-occupancy dorm rooms and bathrooms, and safety features such as decontamination rooms to keep "dirty" gear separate from clean gear and decontamination showers separate from living quarter showers.

The slightly newer Kollen Park Fire Station, 279 Kollen Park Drive, would also be renovated and expanded by 2,500 square feet in the proposed scope of the project.

Goodbye, Sustainability Committee

Council approved a resolution dissolving its Sustainability Committee on Wednesday.

The committee was identified in a systematic review of Holland's boards, commissions and committees as a committee that was longer necessary.

City Manager Keith Van Beek was quick to stress that eliminating the committee, referred to around city hall as "SusCom," meant the committee had fulfilled its purpose, not that the city was done focusing on sustainability.

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City hall now has a sustainability manager, Dan Broersma, working on those projects every day.

The same boards, commissions and committees review also identified the CATV (cable television) advisory commission as a defunct commission that should be dissolved. The CATV advisory commission has not met since 2003.

The process to dissolve the CATV advisory commission will take more steps because the commission was created in a city ordinance, which must be amended.

Scenes from Tulip Time 2022 as people walk through fields of tulips Monday, May 9, 2022, at Windmill Island Gardens in Holland.
Scenes from Tulip Time 2022 as people walk through fields of tulips Monday, May 9, 2022, at Windmill Island Gardens in Holland.

Annual tulip bulb order placed

Buying $97,900 worth of tulips counts as a routine item for the Holland City Council.

This year's order, approved Wednesday, is for Dutch company UNEX Inc. to deliver 550,000 bulbs from overseas this fall to be planted at Windmill Island Gardens, Window on the Waterfront, Centennial Park, downtown and along miles of tulip lanes. Tulip Time chips in $5,200 toward the cost.

The city's bulk purchases of the bulbs have become somewhat more expensive over the last five years, according to a recent history presented to council, but the city is also getting more bulbs out of the deal.

People kneel to take photos of the tulips in full bloom during Holland's Tulip Festival Monday, May 9, 2022, at Windmill Island Gardens.
People kneel to take photos of the tulips in full bloom during Holland's Tulip Festival Monday, May 9, 2022, at Windmill Island Gardens.

In 2018, the city paid $72,580 for 455,300 bulbs, compared to $84,400 in 2019 for 497,200 bulbs. Last year, the order was $102,500 for 559,725 bulbs.

Community members will get together to help plant some of the bulbs on a designated weekend this fall, usually a Friday and Saturday, and reap the rewards of their work next Tulip Time, when visitors arrive from all over the world to see the blooms.

— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens. 

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Council notes: Holland readies for new fire station build