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It is in the very early process, but there is a possibility that a third fire station will be coming to Delaware, Ohio.
According to a report in Columbus Local News the city is considering placing an income tax on the ballot in November that would fund improvements to the city’s fire and police departments. The 0.3% increase would generate about $3 million per year according to current estimates.
Delaware does have a current issue with its fire coverage — and what community wouldn’t when it has basically doubled in size in 20 years?
Could a third fire house be in the future for Delaware, Ohio? (Steven Kapinos/sxc)
The city currently has two fire stations. Wilbur Hills is located on South Liberty Street at the intersection with Park, while the second is located on Pittsburgh Avenue in the industrial park. The third fire station is slated (if the approval passes) at the intersection of Locust Curve Drive and Central Avenue on the city’s northwest side. (The fire house located just east of “The Point” is part of the Tri-Township Fire Department.)
With the unique issue our City faces with the railroad tracks limiting East-West travel and the continued traffic build ups along Central Avenue and William Street have led to a decline in the fire department’s response time. The “expectation” is that the fire department should be able to respond to a call within four minutes of receiving the alarm. As Delaware has continued to expand the City’s south and northwest corner have experienced reduced response times.
Outside of the obvious issues this causes when you have an emergency – it also leads to an increase in insurance premiums for all citizens in the community.
This is still a long way from being even approved by city council to even be put on the ballot for us to vote on it in November. However, it is important to keep in mind how important this service is to the community.
I would strongly suggest that those interested in this topic to review the notes that were presented to the Delaware Citizens Academy on March 20.
Obviously this debate has created a lot of debate and there have been some errors in reporting along the way.
Hence, Lee Yoakum, public relations officer for the City of Delaware, has created a page to keep the public abreast of the city’s stand on the tax issue: http://www.delawareohio.net/Departments/Finance_Tax/fire_ems.aspx