12-03-1997 „mo
Edgewater Fire Station Siting Committee
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, December 3, 1997
Community Development Conference Room
3:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER: The Edgewater Fire Station Siting Committee was called to Order on
Wednesday, December 3, 1997 at 3:00 p.m. by Chairman Jones.
ROLL CALL: Committee members present were: Chief William Vola, Lt. Bucky McEver (for
Chief Schumaker), Ms. Carmel Shearer, Mr. Larry Carson, Mr. Joe Daly, Mr. Ron Prekup, and
Chairman Dick Jones.
MINUTES: The Minutes for the November 25, 1997 meeting were submitted for approval. Mr.
Vola moved to accept the minutes as written. Mr. Prekup seconded. Motion CARRIED 7 to 0.
OLD BUSINESS: Chairman Jones stated he went to both of the sites and happened to be at the
35th Street site when a train went by. He added he could pretty much only hear the whistle so there
would be no problem with the train at that site.
Chief Vola stated he had checked with Dispatch and the next trains that would be coming through
the area would be at 2:45 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. It was the general consensus of the
Committee to go to the site for the 4:00 p.m. train.
Chairman Jones stated he also made a tour around the Southwestern area of Florida Shores trying
to see if there was other property and there is other property, but he questioned the cost of looking
at other property when it would not offer any improvement on the situations they were already
discussing and they already had two sites to consider. He noted the Hibiscus and 30th site would
not be applicable to the area because of the school zone and the traffic in the intersection as
discussed at the last meeting. Chairman Jones asked if anyone would like to take the floor to
discuss the pros and cons of each of the sites.
Mr. Daly discussed the pros and cons of the sites. He noted the advantages of the Hibiscus site and
its coverage in all directions. He discussed the use of earphones on the engine and the ability to
hear when a train goes by. Chairman Jones stated he took a tour of Station #55 and had them do a
test page to see if it could be heard over the traffic and it was audible. There was discussion
regarding the drive through bays as far as storage and hurricane soundness. There was discussion
regarding annexation to the South of the Edgewater city limits and the enclaves in the City limits.
There was discussion regarding the placing of the new station and what the responsibility would be
for response to an incident in the adjoining unincorporated area. It was noted there used to be a
service contract with the County for the unincorportated area. It was noted the contract for service
issue would come up in the future because there is no incentive for the City to provide service
without a fee for the contract services. It was noted currently service to the County is on a mutual
aid basis. There was discussion regarding mutual aid service and that it was limited to availability
of services. There was discussion regarding a Blue Ribbon Commission that was going to
investigate overlapping services for the County. It was noted the issue would have to be taken care
of by legal contract for services. There was discussion regarding the benefits of having a fire house
in a commercial area and the problems of having a fire station in a residential area. There was
discussion regarding educating the nearby residents as the to duties done by the firefighters. There
was discussion regarding the availability for parking. There was discussion regarding
simultaneous calls. There was discussion regarding the response areas from both sites. There was
discussion regarding having the Association together on the same site as the fire station.
Mr. Carson stated Mr. Daly had hit most of the major points. He added on the 35th Street site there
are residents on the other side of 22nd street that would be uncovered by the 4 minute response
time. He stated if the site was on Hibiscus those residents would be well covered. There was
discussion regarding delays in response time by trains. There was discussion regarding the
minimum staffing requirements /recommendations by OSHA & NFPA.
Mr. Prekup questioned mutual aid and the location of the closest fire stations for Oak Hill and
Corey Estates. Mr. Prekup viewed both of the locations and stated it looks like there is plenty of
room at both sites. He stated the City would probably go West in the next 5 to 10 years, but the
Hibiscus site looks like it would be good now. He discussed the Indian River Boulevard area and
noted the new annexation to New Smyrna Beach may block that Westward expansion. It was
noted the area that was stated in the newspaper was in error and that it would not block annexation
to the West. It was noted the City already had land to the West that hadn't been developed.
There was discussion regarding water lines and whether they had been upgraded. It was noted the
lines had been upgraded in the Capital Improvement Program. It was also noted new hydrants
were being added at a rate of 30 per year as they cost $1,500 each. It was being done in pieces
instead of putting out a capital outlay of $200,000 in one year.
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Chairman Jones stated if they were leaving for the site they should leave at 3:45 p.m. to get there
for the train. Chairman Jones stated he was trying to get things wrapped up for a presentation at
the 15th's meeting. He added they would need at least one more meeting. Lt. McEver stated the
site had been pretty much decided by the turn of the discussions and questioned the use of
vibrating pagers to offset the potential noise problem. Mr. Prekup asked if they were all in
agreement on the location. Chairman Jones stated he did not think the location was a given, but
there were some other items that needed to be taken into consideration before a formal
recommendation was made. Chairman Jones asked Ms. Shearer if there was room on the existing
land to build a fire station and still have room for the Association building. There was discussion
regarding the size of the lots and the amount of room needed to build. It was noted the Association
needed at least 3 lots to build. There was discussion regarding the alley that runs from 26th to 30th
that belongs to the City.
Ms. Shearer discussed the response time for back up for fires and the time of travel. There was
discussion regarding the bike path on 30th.
Chief Vola discussed the needs of the present and the future. He added he didn't want to go
through this again in the near future because of poor planing at the present. He added he wasn't
looking at back up issues or politics, but at the largest coverage area with minimal overlapping and
to get the maximum efficiency for today and the future. He did not agree with the concept of
building a substation.
Chairman Jones stated they would not come back after visiting of the sites but they would set
another meeting for Tuesday, December 9th at 2:00 p.m. in the Community Development
Conference Room.
There was discussion regarding double bays and whether the trucks would be parked in tandem.
The Committee recessed at 3:45 p.m. and went to the site at 27th and Hibiscus.
The Committee resumed at the site at 4:00 p.m. The Committee waited for the train. There was
discussion regarding the road, culverts and retention areas as well as access from the alley. There
was discussion regarding expansion and future growth. There was discussion regarding drive
through bays and equipment placement. The train came at 4:12 and the paging tones were set off. It
was barely audible over the engine, but could be heard over the cars. Several more paging tones
were set off to confirm this. The duration of time in which it took for the train to pass was
approximately 3 minutes. There was discussion regarding trains. Various options were discussed
regarding the ability to augment the paging system, such as flashing lights, computer print outs,
speakers on the building, etc. It was noted once the firefighters get in the truck there is no problem
because of the headphones. It was noted the noise from the train should cause no problem. There
was discussion regarding the procedure to go to a fire call and putting bunker gear on. There was
discussion regarding how many times a month incidents were delayed by the train. It was noted
this happens about 5 to 6 times a month. There was discussion regarding where the residential
zoning was in relationship to the site. There was discussion regarding working together with the
Association. It was noted Ms. Shearer should speak to the Building Committee and the Board of
Directors of the Association to get their input on a joint venture and hopefully have some
information by the next meeting. It was noted the boring was already done on this lot. It was noted
that 4 to 5 lots would be needed to build the fire station. There was discussion regarding parking.
There was discussion regarding the deeding of property. There was discussion regarding how
transfer of monies between the Association and the City might occur. It was noted an attorney
would need to draw up the contracts. Lt. McEver left at this time. There was discussion regarding
impact fees, land development, and paving. There was discussion regarding the placement of the
fire station and the Association building. It was noted the placement should be eye pleasing as well
as being functional and meet all the requirements of the site plan. Chief Vola had to leave at this
time.
The Committee moved to the site at 35th and Mango Tree at 4:35 p.m. There was discussion
regarding wetlands and annexations to the South along US 1. There was discussion regarding the
boundaries of the site. There was discussion regarding the proximity to neighbors. There was
discussion regarding the make up of the roads and access through Volco Road. There was
discussion regarding parking. There was discussion regarding tandem parking in drive through
bays. There was discussion regarding the workshop that had been held with the previous City
Council. There was discussion regarding the old Station #56 and the wastewater expansion. There
was discussion regarding the elevation of the site. There was discussion regarding the retention
pond and water retention for the site. There was discussion regarding swales and bugs. There was
discussion regarding the upkeep of the retention pond and it was noted the City had a contract with
the Lake Doctors to keep some of them up.
There being no more business to come before the Committee at this time, Ms. Shearer moved to
adjourn. Motion was seconded Mr. Carson. Meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
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Minutes Respectfully Submitted By:
Lisa R. Miller. Recording Secretary
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