Huntington picks fire station spot

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports writer

The Huntington City fire department was out in force at the January regularly scheduled City Council meeting to offer their opinion as Huntington had scheduled discussion and approval of a new fire station site. Sunrise Engineering, represented by Douglas J. Nielsen, presented conceptual plans for the new fire station to open the meeting. The building will be 120 feet by 90 feet and would include five bays for trucks. Each bay would have a 14 foot wide door that was also 14 foot high. It is anticipated that this building would fit the needs of Huntington City for 40 years.
Travis Larsen, city councilman over the fire department, talked about the actual proposed building. It would include big locker rooms, training rooms, media room, kitchenette, fire chief office and ambulance crew office on the main floor. The mezzanine would include exercise room, bedrooms, bathrooms with showers, and more multi-purpose rooms. The building would be a brick and block building with a metal roof.
Larsen, along with department personnel, spent hours looking at each parcel that has been considered as a possible site and has determined that each site would fit the proposed building.
Councilmember Julie Jones mentioned that two of the properties on the north end of town and in the middle of town might present parking problems for businesses that are adjacent to the property. Jeff Guymon, Emery County IT, mentioned that the closer the building was to city hall or to the library would be more beneficial and cheaper for the city. He also had concerns with any property located on Canyon Road might have problems in case of a potential dam failure up the canyon. Five different department members then offered their opinions as to the benefits that each of them saw with each piece of ground.
The council then held a discussion on the pros and cons of each parcel, discussed the total 40 year picture, looked at the parking needs of the main street properties and the cost of ground work that each may involve.
After the lengthy discussion, the property known as the McAllister property located on Main Street between 300 South and 400 South on the west side of the street was chosen as the site. The council was unanimous on this decision and the fire department was also happy with said decision. The city will proceed with land negotiations with the property owner. The city will proceed with applying for grants to cover the cost of the grounds.
The city council then went into a public hearing as required by law to apply to CIB for funds to cover construction of the fire department. The council again was in unanimous agreement to proceed.
The mayor, in other city business, reappointed each city councilperson to the same positions that each currently occupies. They will continue overseeing each city department that each already does.
The council then gave each of their reports. Larsen reported that the snow pack is currently 160 percent of normal and that the lakes have already started filling. It is anticipated that there should be no water concerns in the upcoming watering season. Jerry Livingston reported that most people in town are doing their part to help keep the city streets clean and easy for the city snowplows to do their job.
The Huntington city zoning administrator reported that the projects he is working on in the city are proceeding well and that most property owners are willing to abate the problems that occur on their property. The city, according to city ordinance, has the right and responsibility to abate any problem in the town that violates ordinances. The biggest problem that occurs over and over again in city limits is the storage of more than one inoperable vehicle on a piece of ground. The city council has this as one of their priorities to improve the city this way.