Lincolnshire-Riverwoods fire district seeks voter approval to borrow $25M for new station

Voters in the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District will decide April 1 whether the district can borrow $25 million to build a new fire station and strengthen emergency services.

If approved, the funding would support construction of a modern fire station designed to improve response times, enhance firefighter safety and meet the growing needs of the district’s 19,233 residents, officials say. The money will cover the costs of land development, construction and new equipment.

Emergency calls in the district rose 23% from 2020 to 2024, according the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association. The district serves a 16-square-mile area that includes the majority of Lincolnshire and Riverwoods, along with portions of Vernon Hills, Mettawa, Prairie View and unincorporated areas of Lake County,

Fire Chief Tom Krueger has been hosting informational talks with groups of residents to explain why the upgrades are needed.

“We want to make sure that our residents … know what we are doing to make an educated vote for themselves,” he said.

Krueger, who’s been with the district 25 years, said the last time officials sought a tax increase by referendum was in 1998. This time, the district is requesting a 20-year bond instead of a tax-rate hike.

The owner of a home valued at $600,000 can expect an increase of about $232 annually, or about $19 more per month, if the ballot measure is approved. For a more detailed tax estimator, visit https://www.lrfpd.org/MinutesMatter/.

The district now operates three fire stations: Woodlands Parkway in Vernon Hills; its headquarters on Schelter Road in Lincolnshire; and Saunders Road in Riverwoods.

The Schelter and Saunders stations have reached or are nearing the end of their useful lives (30 years) and need to be rebuilt or remodeled to meet current codes and accommodate a diverse workforce, officials said.

Those stations were designed for an all-male workforce, without proper bathroom and bunking accommodations for women. The district now employs three women among its 48 firefighter/paramedics.

The Schelter and Saunders stations’ locations also are not optimal to best respond to emergencies, officials say. Upgrading them to meet modern safety and operational standards would cost between $27 million and $40 million, officials said.

Instead, if voters approve the April 1 initiative, the two fire stations would be consolidated into one building at 3750 Deerfield Road in Riverwoods.

“We are essentially building two fire stations into one,” Krueger said.

The Saunders station, located within the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District boundaries, is owned by the village of Riverwoods and would be vacated. The district already has a potential buyer for the Schelter station.

While overall staffing will remain the same, the crew size at the district’s Vernon Hills station will grow from two to five firefighter/paramedics on duty, if the bond request passes.