The city is moving forward with plans to build a new fire station and water reservoir in the Kennydale area, with plans for completion by the end of 2018.
Both have been long-needed in the area and the city is planning to use a single parcel of land on North 30th Street for both facilities to be built at the same time as a way to save money.
Fire Station 15, as promised to voters as part of April’s Regional Fire Authority vote, is a top priority, though fire officials are still determining if the new station will be a two- or three-bay building.
“They are making decisions on which one would be the better one to fit their needs in that area,” Renton Facilities Manager Michael Kirk told the City Council during a Committee of the Whole meeting in August.
Whichever design is chosen, the building will be an estimated 1,500 square feet. Capital cost is estimated at $5.5 million with an annual operations and maintenance cost of about $32,000.
The land on which the new station will sit was approved in November of 2001. According to Kirk, the site was chosen because it is “strategically located” to alleviate the pressures of growth and the demand on services. It will also help relieve pressure from Fire Stations 11 and 12, which currently serve Kennydale.
Once a determination is made on the type of building, an architect will be hired and a site plan drawn up.
Kirk said an extensive public outreach period is planned as part of the process, including gathering the input from citizens in the area.
“We want the perspective of a number of people,” he said.
Kirk also said there will be a design focus on sustainability and on making sure the building’s environmental impact and carbon footprint are as small as possible.
City officials were clear that the station is a priority for the city because as part of the RRFA campaign, the city promised residents it would use provide funding for the new station in the first year following the formation of the Authority.
“The expectation is we would get on the station soon,” City Administrator Jay Covington said.
Though the station is slated for construction through 2018, officials said there was a possibility of opening earlier, though that timing will depend in part on the Regional Fire Authority’s ability to staff and maintain the new station.
“We don’t want to build it too early and they’re not ready to operate it,” Kirk said.
In order to create efficiencies in building, planning and permitting, the city is also preparing to build a new, 1.3-million-gallon water tower on the site as well.
Public Works Water Utility Manager Abdoul Gafour said the $6 million, 120-foot tower is necessary to to provide reliability and redundancy throughout the area.
Currently, water for Kennydale is shipped from the Highlands through a pair of transmission pipes that cross I-405. However growth in that area has not quite kept up with demand on the system and sometimes homes and business in the area can lose pressure or experience surges.
Garfour said there are 926 single family residences, 1,700 multi-family units 44 commercial customers, 20 industrial customers and 40 irrigation connections to the system in Kennydale, as well as 61 connections for fire protection and nine city connections.
Among the businesses served by the system in Kennydale are Boeing, Paccar, The Landing, the Southport projects, the Seahawks and Stoneway Concrete.
Council President Randy Corman asked about the need for the tower to be so tall, but Garfour said the height was necessary to provide the pressure needed for both fire suppression as well as to meet the city’s policy requirements for house to be served with the highest elevation.
Public outreach on the tower is also planned and the city will work with the arts commission on the tower’s aesthetic.
A consultant contract was approved in August and a preliminary design is currently being developed.
Though both facilities are necessary, Covington reiterated that the promise to voters for a new fire station took precedence.
“We recognize the priority here is the station,” he said.
