Yesterday afternoon was the official groundbreaking for our new fire station to be located in southwest Eden Prairie. Yesterday’s event marked the end of a two year process to identify and acquire a suitable site and then design a building that met our current and future needs all the while staying within budget. I have been fortunate to have a supportive group of people behind this project all the way. The support, of course, begins with the citizens of the fine city. Next is the support of all of our City Council members, followed by Scott Neal our City Manager. Last but not least has been the support and input from the members of the fire department. I would especially like to recognize the efforts of the building committee members: Rod Uting, Roger Anderson, Ward Parker, Tim Peltier, Fred Ziebol, Chuck Siebert and Rick Hammerschmidt. These seven people worked tirelessly to bring the design process to a successful conclusion.
Now the “fun” part begins, the actual construction process. Our General Contractor, CM Construction is set to begin moving equipment onto the site on Monday April 24th. Construction is expected to be completed by this time next year. With the location of this fire station our ability to serve the residents of southwest Eden Prairie will be greatly enhanced. Additionally we will be able to provide a faster response to mutual aid requests from our frequent mutual aid partner Chanhassen Fire. Once highway 312 is completed through the city of Chaska or two cities will be only about 6 minutes apart and we will be able to utilize each other for timely mutual aid support as well.
Our final piece to the whole puzzle is the ongoing process of recruiting great people to join our volunteer ranks. We are currently kicking off a new recruiting process with the goal of getting closer to our newly authorized strength of 95. If you or somebody you know is interested in joining please contact me for more information.
From left to right: Building Committee Members-Rod Uting, Ward Parker, Tim Peltier, Roger Anderson and Rick Hammerschmidt.
To my right, Mayor Tyra-Lukens, Councilmember Ron Case, Councilmember Phil Young, Councilmember Brad Aho and City Manager Scott Neal.
