The future of Arlington’s Fire Station #8 is headed back to the County Board, after a task force delivered a 100-plus-page report that arrived at a “clear consensus” – but not unanimity – that the station be rebuilt on the parcel it currently occupies.

The task force’s report, delivered in time to meet the panel’s May 31 deadline, calls for a modern, four-bay station to be constructed where the 55-year-old existing facility stands on Lee Highway.

“Two key factors drove the decision – service-demand locations, now and in the future, and population,” the task force concluded. “A significant factor in reaching the consensus position on location was that the station be placed where emergency-response services are most needed.”

The final vote to approve the report was unanimous, but an earlier vote on where to put a new station split, with eight task-force members supporting the existing site, two preferring the fire department’s choice of 26th Street North and Old Dominion Drive, and two abstaining.

The station is primarily responsible for a long, skinny stretch of West Palm Beach, so response times vary depending on where the emergency is, but Assistant Chief Diana Matty said Friday that overall response time improved by 1 minute, 43 seconds through June 3, compared to when the next-closest stations responded in the past. “Depending where you are in the zone, it makes a tremendous difference,” Matty said.

Prior to having Station 9, calls went to stations 5, 6 or 7 and those calls averaged 8 minutes, 19 seconds. The average from the new Station 9 is 6 minutes, 35 seconds.

That nearly two-minute difference “absolutely” can make a life-or-death difference in a medical emergency, she said.

One of the biggest improvements comes in the response time to emergencies at MorseLife nursing home on Haverhill, Matty said.

The average response there from Station 6 was 7 minutes, 45 seconds. If Station 6’s firefighters were busy and Station 7 responded, it took 13 minutes, 19 seconds to get to MorseLife.

Now, from Station 9, the trip takes 5 minutes, 51 seconds.

Gillette, Campbell County and the town of Wright are jointly building the new fire station using state consensus money. Earlier estimates put the price tag of the building at $3.1 million, but that increased to almost $3.6 million when the guaranteed maximum price was set with the construction manager at risk Hladky Construction, Hamilton said in a memo.

Hamilton said the lower prices were attributable to the region’s economic woes.

“The amount of work that’s currently being put out is significantly less than it has been,” Hamilton said.

There were multiple bids from companies in the region for almost every trade, including eight bids for the electrical work, he said.

“It’s a very competitive bidding climate right now,” Hamilton said.

Because the prices were lower than expected, four items that had been removed from the basic project to keep costs down were added back in. Those included interior LED light fixtures, an epoxy floor coating in the apparatus bay and gear room, an exterior storage shed and a masonry screen wall for the garbage collection area.

It brought the costs down to $3.3 million, leaving about $250,000 to return to the funding entities.

Hamilton said the money could be used for a new project that the city, county and Wright could agree on.

Hartsdale will use the money to purchase 80 new self-contained breathing apparatus for three fire departments, according to information from Gillibrand.

Hartsdale Fire District Chief Ed Rush said he was thrilled to hear about the award, adding that it will help keep firefighters safe and allow them to do their jobs more efficiently.