Fire station in Boardman to get relocation appraisal

The appraisal will include the lots owned by a Poland family.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The township is looking into other possible sites for its main fire station.
At a special meeting Tuesday, trustees voted to authorize township administrator Curt B. Seditz to seek appraisals and award a contract for the appraisal of the property at the corner of U.S. 224 and Southern Boulevard.
The township owns the land where the main fire station, fire prevention office and old road department building sit. The Feldon family of Poland owns a monument store and another shop at the corner.
Seditz said the family has agreed to allow the appraisal to include their property at the township's expense.
An appraisal done a few years ago on the road department building site indicated that parcel was valued at $250,000.
A study conducted earlier this year by MS Consultants of Youngstown recommended that the main fire station on U.S. 224 be replaced. The estimated cost was $4.1 million.
Site issues
The company was asked to look at renovating vs. rebuilding the station at the same site. The study found that even with renovations, the station, built in 1926, won't meet the department's needs for the next 20 years.
That prompted the township to start looking for other locations for the site. The consultants have said that building a station on another site would be cheaper. If a rebuild were done on the same site, it would have to be done in phases to keep the station operating while the work is being done. That adds to the projected cost.
The estimated $4.1 million cost to build a new station included demolition of the former maintenance and vehicle storage buildings, fire prevention office, the station, adjacent office and living quarters as well as building a new station and vehicle storage building.
The township could opt to sell the U.S. 224 location and use the money to buy land and build a new station.
No location for a new fire station has been identified, although trustees have spoken to owners of potential properties.
Seditz said that once a contract for the appraisal is complete, the work should take 30 days.
"We're looking at the end of July/early August," he said.