By Rich Pollack
Town officials have the green light to sprint forward with plans to construct a new two-story fire station just a few feet from State Road A1A in what is now a parking lot.
After discovering that the previously selected site behind the Highland Beach Town Hall would require massively expensive and time-consuming preparations, town commissioners agreed last month to a new location that will partially obscure the view of Town Hall from the highway.
The decision came after Town Manager Marshall Labadie told commissioners that putting a station in that area, which now holds fewer than a dozen parking spots, was the most cost-effective and least time-consuming alternative.
“The new station in this location gives us a chance to properly provide world-class fire service within the budget established by our residents,” Labadie said.
Under the approved plan, the new station at the south end of the town’s municipal complex will include two stories of living space and a two-bay garage housing a ladder truck and a rescue vehicle.
An additional two bays at the existing station will house a backup rescue vehicle and a backup ladder truck, either of which will be moved about 135 feet south to the new station when the primary vehicle is on a call.
“This allows us to keep all our fire services together,” Labadie said, adding that the new station will be in front of police headquarters, making it easier for the two departments to coordinate.
In approving the new location, town leaders also kept one eye on the future, considering how the new station would mesh with any construction down the road to meet future needs.
Commissioners also wanted to make sure the new building looks like it matches the existing structure.
“Whatever we do, it has to look like Town Hall,” said Mayor Doug Hillman. “Or at least it should look like it’s supposed to be there.”
While the relocation of the new fire station will eat up hard-to-come-by parking spaces at the municipal complex, Labadie says that plans to demolish the living sections of the existing station will open up almost as much room for cars.
That aging station needed to be replaced, he said, because it is too old and too small to meet the needs of the town once it starts its own fire department.
Currently used by Delray Beach Fire-Rescue, which is under contract to provide service until the town’s new fire station is up and running in May 2024, the old station doesn’t meet floodplain requirements.
It also has bunks for five personnel on a shift, with Highland Beach planning for eight firefighter/paramedics per shift.
With the location of the station solidified, Labadie and other town officials will work with architects and builders to put the fine points on the design of the station.
That process faces budget constraints with inflation and supply chain issues pushing costs up. The estimated price tag for the station now comes in at $7.5 million.
“Our next steps are to accelerate the design process,” Labadie said. “We’re now coming up with the final design and a schedule for construction, which is expected to begin early next year.”
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