Submitted by Chris Durkee, Task Force Chair – The South Shore Fire Station Task Force (SSFSTF) is continuing to make progress in evaluating
the future of Station #212 on South Shore Blvd. Having already reviewed the existing
deficiencies of the current station and confirmed the need for a fire station in the south/east
quadrant of Lake Oswego, our group set out to determine if the current site of Station #212 is optimum.
Here is a summary of what we’ve accomplished so far:
Reviewed deficiencies of current station 212, which include:
- Living quarters not built to current “essential facility” seismic standards
- Apparatus bay too small for current and future equipment
- Electrical system and emergency power system in poor condition
- Inadequate separation between living, office, training and workout spaces
- Bathrooms lack privacy and equitable accommodations
Confirmed need for a fire station in the south/east quadrant of Lake Oswego. Rationale
includes:
- Without a 4th fire station, response times don’t comply with county standards and significantly reduce chances for positive outcomes on medical and fire calls.
- South/east quadrant of city could be cut off from the other 3 stations in event of a natural disaster such as flood or earthquake
- Maintaining 4 stations provides for growth in housing and senior facilities in this portion of town.
- Minimal savings if station 212 was to be decommissioned – staff would likely be relocated to other stations while phasing out positions through retirement.
Established that the current location for Station 212 is optimum, because:
- Alternative sites along Stafford Rd were studied and shown to result in longer response times for much of 212’s service area.
- No developable City-owned property in s/e quadrant would yield better response times.
- To build on an alternate site, the City would have to purchase multiple homes at considerable expense.
- Acquisition through eminent domain was determined to be highly undesirable.
- An alternative site (not city-owned) on McVey Ave was evaluated but did not show sufficient improvement in response times to warrant the cost, time, and trust impact of pursuing acquisition.
Meeting #4 of the SSFSTF will be on January 9th , agenda includes:
- Review of preliminary spatial program prepared by Fire Department staff based on analysis of current and future needs, and information gleaned from touring other facilities
- Review of preliminary project costs prepared by City staff based on recently constructed fire stations in our area
- Discuss feasibility of renovation rather than new construction
- Initial discussion of funding options
Stay tuned – we’ll issue periodic updates on the Task Force’s progress. For more information or to provide input please visit lakeoswego.city/SSFSproject, contact Quin Brunner, LO Management Analyst (qbrunner@lakeoswego.city), or Chris Durkee, Task Force Chair (durkeechris@yahoo.com).
