LE MARS, Iowa — The time has come, Chief David Schipper says, for the citizens of Le Mars to show their fire department a little love.
The fire department is working to get a bond measure before Le Mars voters this fall that would finance a new $12-15 million firehouse. Up until now, Schipper says, the department has been making do with a pair of fire halls that don’t meet its needs — one, the very old main firehouse, where firefighters spend nights in closets converted to sleeping quarters, and the other, a newer station that’s insufficient for the ever-growing demands placed on the department.
“Hopefully the public will support us,” Schipper said. “You know, we take care of them 24-7. And now we need a little help.”
But in view of the approval just last fall of a $49.97 million school bond, Le Mars Mayor Rob Bixenman said he’s uncertain of the public’s appetite for another bond issue — much as both city officials and the community want to support the department.
“I’m not sure,” the mayor said. “The concerns that I’ve heard is, the timing of it. We just passed a large school bond issue last year. But I don’t think anyone really questions the need per se, as much as just burdening our taxpayers with an additional tax.”
Le Mars fire station bond issue
Dave Schipper, Le Mars Fire-Rescue chief, stands outside the department’s station No. 2 on May 23. The department is seeking voter approval of a bond issue to build a new fire station at the intersection of 12th Ave. S.W. and Eighth Ave. S.W.
The proposed, 25,000- or 26,000-square-foot firehouse would replace the department’s current No. 2 fire station, which sits on part of the old Westmar College campus on 12th Street SE. To keep the taxpayer burden as low as possible, proponents say they want to incorporate donations in paying for it.
In late 2022, the city purchased a roughly 2.2-acre corner lot on 12th Street SW, a major thoroughfare, for $350,000, with the intention that the department would someday build a new firehouse there. The site is, in every respect, perfectly suited to the department’s needs, Schipper said.
The No. 2 fire station was built 20 years ago, Schipper said, and there’s been some confusion in the community about why the department would need to replace a relatively new building.
“It looks nice, everybody thinks it’s new,” Schipper said. But it, like the old downtown firehouse, is largely landlocked and has little space for expansion.
The proposed firehouse is more than twice the square footage of the No. 2 fire station. Because the current No. 2 fire station does not have any sort of living quarters, Schipper said, it is not a proper “firehouse.” (The “house” distinction, he says, is reserved for buildings that have some form of living quarters.)
Le Mars fire station bond issue
Dave Schipper, Le Mars Fire-Rescue chief, stands at the doorways to a small dorm room and a small bathroom May 23 in the department’s main station in downtown Le Mars. The department is seeking voter approval of a bond issue to build a new fire station at the intersection of 12th Ave. S.W. and Eighth Ave. S.W.
The new firehouse would have all that the growing department needs — bedrooms, kitchen, offices, truck bays, exercise room, space for training and meetings. It would become the firehouse, Schipper said, where crews spend their nights, while the current, main firehouse downtown would be downgraded to fire station.
“We’re out of room,” Schipper said. The 11-person department is growing its ranks — a