By Paul Snyder
The Daily Reporter (Milwaukee, WI)
Copyright 2006 Dolan Media Newswires
The city of Waukesha will soon decide whether to permanently close its old Fire Station No. 1 nearly four months ahead of schedule.
Heavy rain from Thursday’s thunderstorms left 5 feet of water in the station’s basement and damaged a number of its contents. But with construction continuing on the city’s new $7.4 million Fire Station No. 1, scheduled to open in December, paying for repairs wouldn’t appear to be the most cost-effective decision.
"[The city] is not going to want to sink money into repairing a building that’s going to be torn down in six months anyway,” said Nick Papanicholas Jr., vice president of Nicholas & Associates, the Mount Propsect, Ill.-based general contractor on the project.
Papnicholas drove up to Waukesha Wednesday afternoon to meet with city and Fire Department officials about the options the Fire Department is looking into for housing between now and the new station’s opening.
One option, he said, was for the department to rent trailers, which would be set up on the site of old station.
“Realistically, it could actually help the process of building of the new fire station,” Papanicholas said. “If they do decide to temporarily move into a trailer setup, then we could complete the new parking lot for the building, since we could demolish the old building now instead of after we finish the new one — which was the original plan.
“It could end up that Thursday’s storms turn out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. “
Fate undecided
Randy Radish, a Waukesha alderman, said that the old station has been vacated and the equipment has been spread throughout the city’s four other stations. He said that while repairs have not yet been officially ruled out, the deciding factor will be determining whether the building is worth fixing at this point.
“It’s in the insurance company’s hands right now,” he said. “We’re probably talking about $100,000 in repairs, and the question is if it’s worth it to spend that on something that’s going to be torn down shortly?”
Radish added that a couple of firefighters are currently working evening shifts at a police substation with one truck.
Another option the city is looking at is moving into part of the uncompleted new project. Craig Eide of Plunkett Raysich Architects, Milwaukee, which designed the new station, said construction is coming along at a good pace and that the roof of the building was recently added. The building’s windows and doors, however, are still awaiting installation.
Papanicholas added that the proximity of the two stations contributed to the damage sustained by the old station.
“The new building and the old building are about 5 feet apart,” he said. “The groundwater builds up, and there’s no drainage on the new station’s site, so it all caved in through the old building’s basement. “
Radish pointed out that a remodeling of the old station had been considered before deciding to build a new one, but the building’s basement and sump pumps figured against renovation.
“Some of those pumps were running 24/7,” he said. “The old building was nice, though it was a bit dated, and people are complaining about losing it, but you have to deal with the reality of the situation.
“It’s unfortunate that the storm happened when it happened, but this is the kind of thing that happens. You can’t control it. What if it was during renovation work?”