FAYETTEVILLE -- City officials want to build a new fire station and add another 10-firefighter company using University of Arkansas student fees.
That's on top of a 1-mill property tax increase the City Council is considering.
Fayetteville Town and Gown Advisory Committee
The Fayetteville Town and Gown Advisory Committee was created in 2012 to address issues of mutual relevance to the city of Fayetteville and University of Arkansas.
The committee comprises seven city staff members, seven university representatives and seven members of the community at-large. Meetings are held the third Monday of every other month.
The committee’s next meeting is scheduled Nov. 16.
Source: Staff report
The new fire station would replace Fire Station No. 2, which was built at 708 N. Garland Ave. in 1964. The station would serve the university campus and the area north and east of campus where many university students live.
Members of the Fayetteville Town and Gown Advisory Committee discussed the proposal Monday but did not make a recommendation to the university's Board of Trustees. Instead, the committee formed a task force to investigate the issue further.
The university does not have its own fire department. It's up to city firefighters to respond to calls for service on and around campus.
According to Fayetteville Fire Chief David Dayringer, the department's citywide call volume increased by more than 30 percent, from 7,093 calls to 9,250 calls, between 2010 and 2014. University enrollment grew by nearly 5,000 students during that same period.
Dayringer said the Fayetteville Fire Department is no longer able to adequately respond to two structure fires that happen simultaneously, especially if one fire occurs on the far west side of town and another fire is near campus.
"Putting an additional company in the core of the city will allow the outlying fire companies to stay at home in their first-in areas more often, and so there won't be as high of a response time," he said.
Dayringer said students living both on and off campus are a concern for firefighters.
"Many students are fresh out of the house and need to be reminded on fire safety issues, even if it's having candles burning or cooking for the first time," he said.
Chemistry labs and specialized equipment on campus carry another whole set of fire risks, he added.
The department's ultimate goal is to build a facility that could house two fire trucks, a hazardous materials response team and a Central EMS ambulance along with a trail response vehicle and a rescue boat.
"It would be an all hazard response team contained at that one facility," Dayringer said.
He estimated the cost of the new fire station, built somewhere in the vicinity of Station No. 2, at about $6 million. Hiring and training a new company and buying a new fire truck would require $2.6 million in upfront costs. Keeping the company staffed would cost more than $1.1 million per year.
Dayringer said a $3.50 per credit hour fee would generate about $15.8 million from 2016 through 2010, assuming campus enrollment grows by 6 percent each year.
Under the proposal discussed Monday, half of the money would go to the Fayetteville Fire Department. The other half would go to the University of Arkansas Police Department.
Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities, said university officials aren't committed to the proposal but are willing to entertain it and are receptive to looking at other funding sources as well to pay for public safety improvements.
Johnson suggested a task force comprised of two university representatives, two city officials and two members of the Fayetteville community at-large.
He said solutions could run the gamut, from doing nothing to creating an entirely new university fire department.
Steve Clark, Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce president, encouraged city and university officials to do something.
"I just think that this is one of those things that we no longer can just keep talking about," Clark said. "We've got to come up with some sort of plan of action."
A separate proposal to raise the city's property tax rate by 1 mill is again up for discussion at the City Council's Oct. 6 meeting. The tax increase would generate approximately $1.37 million, which would be used to pay for another 10-firefighter company, to be housed at Station No. 1 on Center Street next year.
The new fire station and company paid for with student fees would not be added until at least 2018, Dayringer said.
Fire Department officials also want to be able to build a fire station on Township Street, between Gregg and College avenues, by 2020.
"This isn't the only time we'll be back to the trough to add fire companies," Dayringer told the Town and Gown committee Monday.
NW News on 09/22/2015