Springfield council OKs purchase of property for west-side firehouse, stirring emotions again

Emotions continued to bubble up about the placement of Springfield Fire Department houses as the full city council approved the purchase of land at the southeast corner of Lawrence Avenue and Rickard Road which will be home to Station No. 8.

Meanwhile, Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso said it is time for the city "to move on and find another location that's more suitable" for Station No. 6 as it awaits further soil testing from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency at the proposed 11th and Ash property where Honeywell-Hobbs once sat. The city wants to move the station two blocks away, from its current location at 2156 S. Ninth St., but out of Ward 6.

SFD Chief Brandon Blough contended the city "can't cut bait on this not knowing (the outcome)" of the situation and thought the property could be remediated.

Station No. 8 is currently at 2051 W. Monroe St.

See also: Longtime Springfield educator dies of brain cancer complicated by accident in Effingham County

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin voted against the ordinance because it would put three firehouses west of Illinois 4.

Station No. 12 is located at 2925 South Koke Mill Road while the new Station No. 13 would be slotted for property the city owns right off of Woodside Road. (There will be an open house about Station 13 at Cherry Hills Church, 2125 Woodside Rd., from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday.)

Ward 3 Ald. Roy Williams Jr. said while he wanted all parts of the city to be protected, he wondered about the process itself.

"Again, (two) brand new fire stations to the newest part of town, on the side with the best homes and the best whatever," he said. "But then in my ward, in the older wards, real small, 1950 something fire stations. Again, I want everybody to be protected, but I want you to remember what perception looks like and what it always tends to be for the east side."

Blough said the fire department has used hard data to figure out where the new stations need to go. The department has also mimicked trends other fire departments have used regarding population shifts while trying to be cognizant of four-minute response times.

"We have done the homework," Blough said. "The places where we want to put these firehouses are not happenstance. They're not guesses, and these are where they need to go."

At last week's committee of the whole meeting, DiCenso suggested the SFD consider an alternative location like 10th and Laurel and said the city "couldn't have been surprised" it would possibly run into problems at the former Hobbs site, which produced controls, switches, lighting systems, battery indicators and meters for the transportation industry before shutting down for good in late 2010.

"We've all said Station No. 6 was the top priority," DiCenso said. "Everyone said that. I don't begrudge Station No. 8. I'm voting for it. But I've always stuck with the fire department. Always. And I don't see the fire department sticking with Ward 6."

Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley said she didn't want this to be viewed "as some sort of perception that west side is getting something that other parts of the city shouldn't be getting or won't be getting. I'm 110% behind Station No. 6 being addressed."

"I recognize," Blough said, "there is a perception that the east side is getting the short end of the stick again on this. If we just plopped a firehouse on the east side of town because there is some land that is convenient for us to do so and it doesn't serve the purpose of what that firehouse is supposed to do but it's faster, I don't think that's a good tradeoff."

The IEPA, he maintained, hasn't ruled out the Hobbs site totally.

Earlier: As questions persist about firehouse on Springfield's east side, fuses grow shorter

Like last week, Blough said it was still the best site for the station.

"There's an argument to be made that just because something may not come to completion first does not mean that it's not still one of our top priorities," he said. "It's taking more work. I think that should be something that shows you our dedication to making sure Station No. 6 is going in the right spot. 50, 60, 70 years is how long we're going to utilize this firehouse.

"My job is to make sure we do the best we can to put it in the right place."

The city council placed on first reading Tuesday the purchase of the property at 11th and Ash.

"We wanted to make sure we kept the process moving forward in case what turns up isn't as severe as what we thought," Langfelder said.

Ordinance tabled again

The city council again tabled an ordinance about pedestrians in roadways.

"We want to make sure we're in sync to stand up to any type of litigation with regards to the safety aspect because that's what's driving this whole initiative," Mayor Jim Langfelder said. "I know everyone calls it panhandling, but it goes way beyond this. It's about how do we keep our streets safe with pedestrian traffic, and that's what we're trying to get to the core of, how we can make that possible."

Two weeks ago, the ordinance was pulled because corporation counsel wanted to study a letter from the ACLU and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

That letter chided for broadening the city code to exclude people from medians.

Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath and Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer both the issue was problematic.

Fire hydrant testing

SFD, with City Water, Light and Power, has begun fire hydrant testing.

More: 50 years on, Styx returns to Illinois, the band's 'center of the universe'

Testing will be ongoing through August. Annual testing by flushing ensures fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes.

Water can become discolored in service areas located in the vicinity of the hydrant tests, CWLP cautioned. If discoloration occurs, residents may run cold water through the tap until the water turns clear. Clothes washing should be delayed until the tap water runs clear to avoid discoloration. In most instances, the water will clear in approximately five minutes.

Teen Empowerment Zone

The city council approved by a 9-1 vote authorization of a contract to purchase two properties at 130 N. 16th St. and 1415 E. Jefferson St. for $400,000.

The facility on North 16th Street was formerly owned by United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln before being acquired by Sparc in 2019.

Langfelder said the city has a $300,000 grant from the State of Illinois with $100,000 coming from Community Development Block Grant funds.

Last summer, the Springfield Park District and the city used block grant funds to provide activities for children at Comer Cox Park. Those included day camps for children ages five to 13 and evening basketball games for teens.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield City Council approves purchase of site for new firehouse