FARMINGTON—As the west side of Farmington grows, so does the need for city services. Currently there is only one fire station in the city and that’s on the east side. Plans are in place to build a new 15,000 square foot fire station on the west side to accommodate for the growth there.

“Forty percent of the calls are from the west side of Farmington,” said City Manager, Brigham Mellor. “There are only four places to cross the freeway. The biggest is at Park Lane and we’ve had multiple accidents there.”

Emergency vehicles have to go with the flow of traffic, he said. “To try and go with lights and sirens would be too dangerous. So it can take quite a while to respond and then on the east side too.”

Mellor said about six years ago they decided they needed to build a new fire station. “The design is done. About a week or two ago we brought in a CMGC (Construction Manager/General Contractor) to look at some design elements. That helps manage the cost of the project.”

The cost of the project is $16 million, he said. “We’ve already used $2 million to develop the design and for excavation and we’ve put in some fill dirt.”

The city received $10 million from the sale of a 16-acre property on Main Street and Highway 89, said Mellor. “The city got the property about 15 years ago in a tax sale. Last winter we sold it to the Boyer Company and the $10 million raised will go to the fire station. The rest will be from impact fees so it will be essentially free to the taxpayers. They won’t pay anything.”

The project is anticipated to be completed in about 18 months, Mellor said. “Right now we have enough equipment and staff for both stations. We have seven hands now and we’ll go up to eight next year. We’ll have four firefighters in each station on the east and west sides. Undoubtedly we’ll have to expand the fire service in the future but that’s probably two years out.”

The new fire station will be located at Innovator Way and Cook Lane, approximately 500 North Innovator Way across from the new park.