EDWARDSVILLE, IL—During its public safety and administrative and community service (ACS) committees Thursday, aldermen voted not to close the Montclaire Fire Station, for now.
The committees’ caveat to the station’s reprieve is that if or when Montclaire needs a moderate-to-major repair or upgrade, the council will stop sinking capital expenses into it.
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“I believe the growth of our community and shifting development patterns necessitate the construction of a more efficient station on the city’s eastern edge,” said Alderman Will Krause. “Since the early planning stages of the new public safety facility downtown, closure of the Montclaire Station has always been considered an inevitability.”
However, Krause said his constituents and area first responders contacted him about the perceived folly of closing Montclaire before a new fire station is built and ready for use, which the committee said is two to five years away. Closing and selling Montclaire prior to a new station would also deviate from the city’s three-station model.
“In my opinion, the arguments for closing the station and developing a new one are valid yet after reflection and consultation with my residents, it is my opinion that we maintain station #2 until the opening of the new facility.”
Alderwoman Janet Stack agreed.
“I’m very fiscally conservative,” she said. “I don’t know if the amount that we would save would put our residents at risk and I really don’t want to see that happen.”
She said that while the council does not want to decrease any firefighter positions, she wants to avoid putting any more money into Montclaire.
During ACS, Mayor Hal Patton sought to clarify some points about Montclaire and the new station.
“This isn’t something we took lightly; this isn’t something that we just winged and said, ‘Let’s make a quick decision because we don’t care.’”
Patton read excerpts from a letter Fire Chief Richard Welle wrote to the task force committee five months ago.
“’Response times for some limited areas will be impacted, though not severely’ and that’s what my analysis shows,” Patton said.
The mayor drove from Montclaire to various points in town, noting how long it took and how many miles he traveled. What was unclear is what time(s) he made the trips or if he made repeat journeys, once during the day and once in the evening, when traffic patterns can differ.
Patton wanted to make it clear to everyone that once the new fire station, which is planned to go somewhere along Governors’ Parkway, is open and ready, those residents served by Montclaire now will not be served by the new station. Station #1 on South Main Street will cover Montclaire.
“’Part of the overall plan was to relocate Montclaire Fire House sometime in the future, as growth dictates,’” Welle wrote. “’Particularly growth in the I-55 corridor. With two years of response experience from the new public safety building, it’s become clear that the Montclaire station is obsolete, particularly in its current location.’”
This move would also decrease call-back requirements under the current labor contract, reducing overtime costs, as staff would be put in the combined station on South Main. Welle estimated an $84,000-a-year savings by closing Montclaire, combined with $50,000 savings from utility and operation costs, plus minor repairs every year. That puts total savings in the $135,000 range annually.
Patton said he and Rodney Hall, president of Edwardsville Firefighters’ Local 1700, exchanged and pored over a variety of data-average response times, best practices and more. Patton said Illinois’ response times are an average 7.5 minutes; the highest Patton said he measured was from Montclaire to the front entrance of Ebbets Field subdivision at five minutes, five seconds.
Selling Montclaire, also known as station #2, was one of the police and fire pension task force recommendations discussed Dec. 13 during a public safety committee meeting. The station was built in 1969, when railroad traffic dissected the city and Edwardsville had a more north-south orientation. By contrast, station #1 on South Main was finished in 2017 and the station #3, on the SIUE campus, opened in late 2016.
While Montclaire has a new roof and some structural and tuckpointing issues have been remedied, it remains in major need of repairs – the entire cooling system needs to be replaced, asbestos has been found in the kitchen and in the window caulking, the building is not Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant and its electrical lighting is inefficient. It only has working space for two personnel.
Connected to closing Montclaire, the aldermen also voted no on selling the real estate containing the station’s location at 340 Montclaire Avenue.
These recommendations will move to the next city council meeting on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. in city hall, located at 118 Hillsboro Avenue.
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