Medina accepting engineering proposals for one-bay fire hall addition

File photo by Tom Rivers: The current fire hall is too small for a bigger ladder truck that is expected to arrive in December 2025. Currently there is only two inches of clearance from the top of the truck to get in and out of the bay in the fire hall.

MEDINA – The Village of Medina is accepting proposals from engineering firms to design a one-bay addition to the fire hall.

Those proposals are due by Sept. 12. The village will hire an engineering firm to prepare the bid specifications for the addition, which is needed to accommodate a larger ladder truck due to arrive in December 2025.

Village officials were looking at a two-bay addition and upgrades to the existing fire hall, but scaled that project back when estimates topped $6 million.

Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman said an engineering report, detailing the one-bay addition, is needed to help the village pursue grant funding to help pay for the new space. She is hopeful for state and federal assistance with the building addition.

The board needs to find an affordable solution because the new truck will be delivered in about 16 months.

“We’re going for a bare-bones building for something to put this truck in,” she said during Monday’s board meeting.

The new ladder truck will have a clearance of 13 feet. The current fire hall only has room for up to 10 feet, 6 inches in height.

The village will be replacing a ladder truck that is 29 years old with a height of 10 feet, 4 inches. The new bay in the addition is expected to be 14 feet high.

The village received some good news with the fire truck. Medina was looking at a 6.5 percent financing rate for the $1.7 million truck from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But Village Clerk-Treasurer Jada Burgess said that rate has come down to 4 percent, which would save the village significantly in interest. The final rate won’t be known until it’s time for the village to take out the financing.