The design of Derby's new fire station made its public debut at the Jan. 10 city council meeting and while members approved the look and function, they had lots of questions for the architects. So many that they ended up spending an hour examining the artist's rendering of the 20,842-square-foot structure and the site plan.
In the end, the council approved the design and authorized GLMV Architecture to proceed to develop construction documents.
The fire station is scheduled to be built in 2018 and replace the current aging Station 81, which is now at 128 W. Market. That property will be retained by the city, but used for other functions.
Derby has one other fire station, which is at 1401 N. Rock Road.
City officials say the new station is needed for a number of reasons, including being closer to where the city's growth is taking place. Along with improving response times, it will avoid issues with the railroad tracks, which the current Station 81 has.
That includes traffic backing up when trains are passing by. The new station also will be able to offer the administrative part of the department adequate room.
At the council meeting, members said a close examination of the design was justified, especially considering the amount of tax dollars and the fact that this structure will be serving Derby for decades to come.
"This is a big deal for us," Mayor Randy White said to the three-member team from GLMV who had come to city hall to make their presentation. "This is something for us to be proud of."
Council members explained to the team that while they liked the design, they wanted to make sure taxpayers were getting their money's worth from the $6.5 million project.