Fire District - Final Decision - May 23, 2006

Mayor wants to keep all firehouses

Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson plans to announce today that he wants to replace three aging firehouses with new buildings and keep all 19 of the other Louisville Fire & Rescue stations open.
Abramson's decision adopted few of the recommendations of a consulting firm that included closing some firehouses, consolidating others and eliminating some firefighting jobs.

Concerns eased...

The plan eases concerns of residents who strongly opposed closing any firehouses.
"It's wonderful news," said Noel Rueff, who lives near the firehouse on Frankfort Avenue at Pope Street, which consultants recommended be closed. "It's obvious that folks with the city were listening to the community."
Rueff, a member of the Riedlonn Neighborhood Association, attended three meetings of a citizen panel the city formed to give input into the fire department reorganization.
Fire union officials and firefighters also approved of Abramson's plan.
"It sounds like the right decisions have been made," said Paul Routon, president of the firefighter s' union, which has opposed losing firehouses or companies.

The plan...

The three firehouses to be rebuilt are among the city's oldest: 1761 Frankfort Ave., built in 1891; 2425 Portland Ave., built in 1903; and 501 W. Ashland Ave., built in 1926.

"This plan is going to modernize the fire department here, which we desperately need," said Fire Chief Greg Frederick. "But we're being very prudent with what we're doing."
Abramson pledged that all the new firehouses will be built in the same vicinity as the existing stations. No specific locations have been determined. He also said no existing firehouse will be shut down until the new building is completed.
"To hear that he is not closing firehouses is the most important thing," said Sgt. Jason Brandt, an eight-year veteran who works in the Ashland Avenue firehouse.
In addition to the new buildings, the proposal would speed up the purchase of new equipment, replacing 17 pieces over the next five years. The accelerated replacement of equipment was suggested in the study.

Plan is phase one
The proposal is the first phase of the fire department's modernization. Abramson did not outline specific plans beyond a four-year timeline, saying the city needs to consider the impact of development downtown.
The first phase of the project, which will cost $17.5 million, is expected to be completed by 2009.
Of that, $3 million to replace some equipment has already been appropriated in the budget for the current year , which ends June 30.
Abramson said he will recommend in his 2006-07 budget later this week that the city spend $3 million on his plan in the coming year. The money will come from the city's vehicle replacement fund and a bond issue, said Abramson spokesman Chad Carlton.
Most of the money, $1.8 million, will be spent on new fire trucks and other vehicles. The balance will be used to purchase land for the three new stations and to pay for their design.
That would leave about $11.5 million in the 2007-08 and the 2008-09 budgets to complete the first phase of the project. Carlton said that money would come from the vehicle replacement fund and future bond issues.

Since the consulting firm, TriData, released its study in November, city officials have met with firefighters and representatives of neighborhood associations throughout the city to get their views.
"Neighborhood leaders and firefighters added perspective to what we're going to do," Abramson said yesterday.
Abramson said the TriData study was never meant to be the final plan, but rather a springboard for discussion. He defended the $136,000 cost of the study, saying it provided valuable information.
Kevin Porter, who lives in Portland and went to residents' meetings about the plan, said he thinks the public opposition to the closings worked.
He said he's pleased the Portland area will retain its firehouse. The consultants had recommended consolidating the station with another outside Portland.
Porter is also happy his neighborhood's aging firehouse will be replaced with a new building. "A new one is definitely needed, there's no doubt," he said.

Metro Council reaction....
Members of the Metro Council who would get new firehouses in their districts were delighted yesterday by the news.
"That is outstanding," said Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9th District.
Ward-Pugh said that for months she has been telling her constituents, "I promise you the mayor will not do anything that will compromise your fire protection."
Cheri Bryant Hamilton, D-5th, said people in Portland had been concerned that their lives would be put in jeopardy if that station was moved from the neighborhood.
And she said the decision could politically help the Democratic mayor, who is running for re-election. "It shows that the mayor is willing to listen. He's not close-minded. He called for the study but he's not going to rubber-stamp it."
Councilman Kelly Downard, Abramson's Republican opponent for mayor, said he believes Abramson backed down on the plan because of Downard's public opposition to closing firehouses. Downard has said several times, including when he was endorsed by the firefighters' union, that he opposed closing firehouses.
"Because it's a political election year, (Abramson) had to back off," Downard said. "I have been vocal. I have been non-changing that moving firehouses at this point has
been a mistake."
Abramson vehemently denied the proposal was politically motivated.
"If politics were an issue, I never would have started a deployment study," he said.

Reporter Jessie Halladay can be reached at (502) 582-4081. Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at jgerth@courier-journal.com or (502) 582-4702.

Email us
jhalladay@courier-journal.com