New St. Charles fire station will break ground Monday

The St. Charles city council has cleared the final obstacle for construction to begin on a new firehouse downtown.

The council approved the construction and management costs this week for what will be about a $5.7 million project when finished.

The city had kept the budgeted and expected costs of the firehouse close to the vest up until this week in hopes of keeping the bids low. As a result, it's difficult to measure how close the $5.7 million is to the initial expectations for the project. Early estimates suggested a project in the area of $4 million, but Mayor Don DeWitte said the price tag announced this week was only about $1,000 more than what the city planned for.

"For a project that took roughly two years to plan, I thought that was good project management," DeWitte said.

The firehouse is designed to improve fire response times, allow for better fire equipment and save taxpayers money in the long haul. It will include three vehicle bays and storage space in what amounts to an expansion of the Century Station building across the street from the current downtown firehouse. Once complete, the firehouse will accommodate modern fire equipment and trucks that are too big to fit through the doors of the current downtown firehouse.

The current firehouse will be demolished, setting the stage for more discussions about how to best use the space it leaves behind.

The city will host a groundbreaking ceremony, initially planned for Tuesday but delayed by rain, at 3 p.m., Monday, Oct. 13. Construction fences will be installed that day as well. The city anticipates a move-in date sometime in July 2009.