The mayor also said there were "sacrifices in trimming the original scope of the project to make everything work out." Officials eliminated a construction of a storage facility on the station property on Little River Road, he said, noting "that is something we can add later."

Kurtz Construction of Westfield is the general contractor for the project. Work on renovating the current building must be completed by November to allow the Fire Department to house its engine vehicle and ambulance inside during the winter months. The vehicles are now parked outside awaiting completion of that phase of the project.

Overall the project will add a community room, expand facilities to accommodate female firefighters and upgrade all utilities including future connection to municipal sewers in the area. The station, when completed, will also serve Fire Department training staff.

In addition to fire fighting services, the station serves as the main emergency response facility, with ambulance, for that section of the city that borders West Springfield.

The fire station, the second of three phases of the facilities project, will cost between $5.5 and $5.7 million. The city has set aside $2 million in cash for the station, with the rest coming from borrowing, Rosin said.

The fire station should be complete within two years.

It will be equipped with the same eco-friendly technology as the new municipal complex, like geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting and solar panels.

The third phase, at $1 million, will remodel parts of the old building for use by the streets and parks departments.

Before the 29,000-square-foot fire station can be built, part of the old building on Second Street must be torn down. That demolition is included in the cost estimates.

For Kaukauna Fire Chief Paul Hirte, the new facility, which will more than triple the size of the current facility, has been eagerly awaited by the fire department.

The current fire station is part of a 130-year-old building, which the fire department moved into in 1974. The department has since added ambulances, ladder trucks, boats, jaws of life equipment, trench rescue equipment and more, Hirte said. Some of those vehicles are parked on the street.