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<br />Stefany Brot, 8145 Cornell <br />Ms. Brot said she agreed with the previous speakers in support of the new firehouse and <br />said the City should use its funds to get an updated fire station. She urged Council to <br />think of the City’s long-term future andwhat the firefighters have done to protect the <br />residents. Ms. Brot asked U City to continue in the tradition of putting its citizens’ needs <br />first. <br /> <br />Elsie Glickert, 6712 Etzel <br /> <br /> Ms. Glickert spoke against the firehouse at that localtion and said a study by a <br />structural engineering firm was needed to be made before any decisions are <br />made. She said the current firehouse building was built as the press building for <br />E G Lewis’s publishing empire. <br /> <br />Lawrence Taylor, 7472 Stanford <br />Mr. Taylor stood in favor of a firehouse but not this one. He had three points to make: <br /> <br /> It’s imperative to have a high-quality firehouse and service and we will have such <br />as it is statutorily defined. Therefore the location, in answer to response time, will <br />be perfect and firefighters will be fully equipped and trained. <br /> <br /> Cost in terms of free land and money will cost the City somewhere between one <br />and three million dollars. In these figures are additional costs above the grant, <br />such as: the cost of a light signal, the grant match and a retrofit of the existing <br />firehouse so it can be used. <br /> <br /> Legacy is that firehouses last 50 to 100 years. He said it could become inefficient <br />if the City separates into three locations for City business and later will be forced <br />to consolidate, in order to save cost. <br /> <br />Randy Getz, 7456 Cornel <br />Mr. Getz is the Battalion Chief for Hazelwood and noted residents expect a higher <br />expertise from the firefighters than before. He said having a firehouse in a <br />residential area is good and also provides more fire/police traffic in the area. The <br />one he works at in Hazelwood is located in a residential neighborhood. He said the <br />firehouse will have to be built now or in the near future and without the grant would <br />end up costing the City more. Mr. Getz said if there is a basement under a one <br />hundred year old building, a new structure is recommended because of the weight of <br />the new fire trucks. <br /> <br />Kurt Becker, 118 Sylvester, District Vice President for the fire fighters in U City <br />Mr. Becker said the idea of walking away from a free plot of land from Washington <br />University and 2.6 million dollars from the Federal government is absurd. He said <br />when speaking with one in authority that the commented that within the last two <br />years a fire act grant, such as the one U City received, has not been given to another <br />fire agency in the four states of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa. He said at <br />the present facility, men and women shower and sleep within the same quarters, the <br />air conditioning system is problematic, the duct work is full of mold, and asbestos is <br />located throughout the whole facility. Mr. Becker noted that when firehouse 3 was <br />remodeled it cost almost two million dollars and the proposal in front of Council is for <br />$800,000 to build a new one. <br /> <br /> 3 <br /> <br /> <br />