The township paid $212,072 — less than the $42,000 per acre outlined in the initial agreement — to Centerville City Schools as the future site for Station 41, Washington Twp. Administrator Jesse Lightle said in an email.
Credit: STAFF
Credit: STAFF
The new site “was selected by analyzing response time data to ensure all residents in Washington Twp. receive the fastest response possible,” Lightle said.
The land sale was recorded Oct. 18, according to Montgomery County Auditor’s Office documents.
The new station will replace the current one at Maple Avenue and Iron Gate Park Drive, which is more than 50 years old. Officials have said the facility, which sits a block from Main Street, lacks direct access to a main thoroughfare and is the fire department’s oldest station.
In 2019, Centerville and township voters easily approved a continuous, 2.85-mill levy to fund fire services, including a new station.
Total costs for the new site — including the land — are projected to be about $6.21 million, according to Lightle.
The levy, expected to generate more than $5 million a year, was also to pay for more full-time firefighters, Chief Scott Kujawa said.
Kujawa said in October 2020 his goal was to have a full-time staff of 90 by the end of this year. Several area public safety officials have told the Dayton Daily News that recruiting for positions in recent years has been challenging.
The township’s fire department now has a full-time staff of 83, along with 15 part-timers, said Kate Trangenstein, communications manager.
Possible layouts for the new site have been discussed in initial meetings with App Architecture, an Englewood architectural firm, Lightle said.
The next step will be gaining Centerville Planning Commission approval for a major site plan with the goal of starting construction next year, she added.
The land is part of about 66 acres the school district bought east of CHS in 2017 from Miami Valley Hospital, county records show.
The school district wanted the land to help “provide options,” including another access route to the school, Superintendent Tom Henderson told the board of education this spring.
The sale still allows for another entrance/exit to the school, he said.
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