Granville Township Fire Station Project

July 27, 2016

Jeff A. Hussey, Fire Chief

Introduction
As I prepare to end my tenure as the Granville Township Fire Chief, having served for nearly a
decade, the issue of replacing the current fire station remains a very contemporary topic in the
community. Hundreds and hundreds of hours were spent on this subject in the past six years,
and with my departure pending, there is an obligation to share this extensive work with my
successor, the Board of Trustees, Granville Village Council, and most of all, our residents. This
work was done methodically, with much professional support from architects, planners, elected
officials, and fire administrators. At all times, the focus has been to find the best possible
solution for this great community.

Professional Studies
In 2010, the Granville Township Trustees hired MSA Architects from Cincinnati to complete a
facility strategic plan. During this study, numerous critical deficiencies were identified, as
described below. Additionally, the planning team was asked to assess the Granville Village
Police Department facilities within Village Hall. A proposal was created which illustrated a
potential combined police and fire facility, located south of the Village in the South Main Street
corridor. The concept of a shared safety facility had been used in numerous other Ohio
communities, and provided some financial savings by sharing some building spaces. Ultimately,
the Village declined to participate in this shared concept and invested significant funds in their
current police station, citing the need to keep their police department downtown.
It is important to note that MSA did not consider re-use of the current downtown fire station
site. A larger, more remote site was considered more customary, and the study focused on a
new site rather than re-use of the present site. It is also important to note that MSA identified
the present station location as a good centralized site that provides excellent coverage to the
population center. The South Main Street site was considered the next best alternative.
In 2015, Moody Nolan Architects of Columbus completed a comprehensive feasibility study of
the current Prospect Street site. As a result, Moody Nolan developed a two story prototype
design and recommended demolition and reconstruction on the present site. In their report,
Moody Nolan recognized the optimal current location from an emergency response
perspective, as well as the critical community interface that exists. Furthermore, Moody Nolan
concluded that reconstruction of the downtown station would meet all future facility needs,
while costing significantly less than an off-site relocation.

Current Facility Critical Defects

As identified by the FD administration, MSA and eventually Moody Nolan, the following building
deficiencies require that a full reconstruction (not remodel) is necessary.

Station too close to street, requiring use of private property for larger apparatus to
leave the building (inadequate turning radius). This also results in conflicts with
pedestrian and vehicular traffic when apparatus is outside building.

Personnel are located in accessory dormitory and administration buildings on College

Street. This results in slower response times (approximately one minute) when
personnel are not in actual fire station.

Maintenance of two historic accessory buildings, while necessary in the short term, is
not cost effective or efficient for the Department.

Dormitory space is at maximum capacity several nights per week. This issue will inhibit
needed increases in night time staffing in the near future.

Apparatus bays are filled to capacity. A new facility should incorporate approximately
25% additional truck bay space to allow for future increases in truck sizes and adequate
work spaces around apparatus.

Safety and environmental concerns include lack of fire sprinklers and diesel exhaust
mitigation systems.

Situation Analysis and Projections

In planning for a future station, and to properly size a new facility, the administration worked
with an urban planner and consulted with other local communities to project growth, call
volume and space needs.
Growth Trends
Various segments of the Granville community were carefully analyzed in regards to past
growth and future potential growth. Factors such as available land, zoning, utilities and
suitability for development were considered. A detailed analysis projected community
growth for 35 years.
Incident Activity
Based on past incident activity trends, coupled with projected community development,
the planners and administration determined call volume will increase to 4000 calls by
2050. Presently, the GTFD responds to 2000 calls per year. This analysis was used to
evaluate space needs in the fire stations of other communities with 4000 or more calls

Fleet Projections
In recent years, the FD administration and Trustees have replaced aging fire trucks with
dual-capability, more efficient vehicles. This has resulted in a reduction in the total
number of emergency vehicles in the fleet. The current FD administration believes the
fleet is presently at its maximum size. The fleet may be reduced by one vehicle in the
next ten years.
Impact of Growth on Facility
There is a common misconception that an increase in call volume will require additional
apparatus in the future. This assumption is incorrect. The current fleet is well sized to
handle 4000 + calls per year. It is important to note that an increase in call volume will
require additional paid staffing in the future thus the need for additional dormitory
and ancillary work spaces.

Proper Sizing
Much time has been invested in determining the correct space requirements for a new fire
station. Operations are certain to grow, while the fleet will remain similarly sized, as previously
noted. Most additional space needs are related to higher staffing levels (both career and
volunteer), improved training spaces, some modest increases in administrative areas, and
incorporation of improved support spaces such as turnout gear storage, maintenance rooms,
and general storage. Current square footage of the entire GTFD complex is 8700 square feet.
The proposed new facility should be sized at 14,500 square feet to meet building programming
requirements.

Single vs Dual Station Concept

The MSA study identified a future need for a northern substation. This aspect of the study
received a significant amount of public attention. The second station was mentioned in the
MSA study only to address long response times to northern areas of the service area, and was
projected many years in the future. The need for a second station became a higher priority if
the main station were to be moved south.
The addition of a second station should not distract from the current dialogue on the
replacement main station. The GTFD is a relatively small department that operates with limited
funding and personnel. The addition of a second station creates major operational challenges.
Current paid and volunteer staff need to have maximum flexibility to select and staff the
appropriate truck depending on the nature of an emergency call. If the fleet is split between
two facilities, personnel in each building would have fewer options to staff the right truck. In
addition to operational drawbacks, a second facility would certainly require additional

operating tax revenues. To be clear, the current FD administration is not presently in favor of a
substation. Future community development will be a key factor in the need to construct a
second station, which will likely occur many years or decades in the future.

Relocation Considerations
Potentially moving the fire station away from the downtown site creates many issues that
should be carefully considered.
Cost
A new site in the South Main Street corridor could cost $1 million to $1.5 million.
Utilities need to be extended to these sites, and could cost up to an additional $500,000
or more.
Floodways
Much of the South Main corridor is in the 100 or 500 year flood area. Building critical
safety infrastructure in a flood prone area is ill advised. If a suitable site is identified for
the actual building, care must be taken to ensure emergency vehicles will not be cut off
from the community due to flooding in adjacent areas.
Zoning
Zoning in the South Main Street area may not be compatible with a public safety use.
Additional research is needed in this area.
Traffic
South Main Street traffic is extremely challenging during peak hours. Traffic patterns
should be carefully analyzed if a site is considered in this area. Additional funding may
be needed to implement traffic light control preemption devices to allow passage of
emergency vehicles through key intersections.
Response Time Adverse Impact
A relocation of the fire station to South Main Street will likely negatively impact average
response times. Currently, Village residents receive a 4 minute, 5 second average
response, while Township residents receive a 5 minute 30 second average response.
Based on incident distribution, the FD administration believes a relocation to South
Main Street will degrade response times by 30 45 seconds on average. Studies
indicated emergency vehicles would travel back through the downtown 75% of the
time. Some excellent software modelling products exist to determine the impact of
relocation on response times. Any such relocation should be carefully modelled and
analyzed to determine potential impact on response times.

Community Noise and Impact

Many local residents mistakenly believe that the noise and adverse impact from
downtown station operations will be mitigated by moving the station out of downtown.
In reality, the opposite is true. The FD utilizes a noise reduction policy to allow for silent
responses to Denison University on all automated fire alarms. This policy is possible due
to the current stations location adjacent to campus, and the availability of various
travel routes. The result is the Departments ability to respond to over 300 automated
fire alarms per year at Denison silently. Relocation of the facility away from downtown
will require an additional 300+ calls using sirens through downtown each year, due to
traffic congestion and necessary routing.

Re-Use of Current Site

The current fire station site has been allocated for public safety for many decades. Moody
Nolan Architects, after careful consideration, have identified a downtown rebuild as the best,
most cost effective option. The Township and Village have acquired five contiguous parcels
which are suitable for a two story, new station. Moody Nolan Architects and their historic
preservationists have carefully studied this site and concluded that a new building can be
constructed which is compatible with neighboring properties.
Cost
Following demolition, the site could be ready for rebuild with minimal infrastructure
costs. A two story building is estimated at $4.5 million, saving the community $1 million
to $2 million compared to acquiring a new site.
Community Interface
The FD and community share an optimal interface in the current location. Community
relations are outstanding, but more importantly, the current fire station serves as a safe
place for families to visit, visitors to obtain community information, and residents to
receive walk-in medical care. Due to the openness and walkability of the current
location, the FD cares for dozens of medical patients every year. On average, the FD
transports fifty medical emergencies to the hospital from the Prospect Street station
annually, of which many are potentially life threatening.

Challenges Related to Current Site

The main challenges with reuse of the present site are parking and community impact during
construction. Parking would improve from the present situation with the conceptual Moody
Nolan design. Parking would increase by approximately four spaces. While this is an

improvement, challenges remain during peak times, such as shift change. Additional remote
parking solutions may be possible and should be explored.
The Moody Nolan Architecture team evaluated the community impact during reconstruction.
During construction, FD operations would be relocated to a suitable temporary location.
Construction and material staging could be accomplished with minimal adverse impact on
neighboring properties.

Fire Department Staff Feedback

Fire Department members strongly supports the current location for delivering quick, effective
service to our residents. Furthermore, they recognize the value of the community interface of
the present location. In fact, a large majority of our firefighters would prefer to remain in the
current facility as it exists, rather than relocate to a new building outside of the downtown
district.

Community Feedback
Community feedback is critical regarding this project. Our staff receives inquiries regarding the
project on a daily basis. A well-informed community discussion is urgently needed. To that
end, it is critical to share the information in this report with our residents so they can form an
opinion based on facts, not misinformation.
Community dialogue can be accomplished through a multi-tiered public hearing. First, the
community should be informed about the overall concept of relocating the station away from
downtown if the Board is considering this option. Then, once a project site and budget is
identified, an additional community forum should be used to gather feedback about any
detailed proposal.

Funding
This past year, $2 million of fire department operating funds were set aside in a station capital
account. This is not to be confused with some General Fund monies that were moved into a
fire station fund, and then returned to the General Fund at a later date by previous Trustees.
Additionally, the department fleet replacement account contains a balance of $1.8 million.
Some of these funds can be used for this project, as long as a funding source can be created to
repay that account. It is likely that the $4.5 million downtown station can be built with little or
no debt. However, a funding stream equal to roughly 1 mil would provide repayment of
existing capital funds for future vehicle purchases. The amount of millage needed will need to
be fully determined by the Township Fiscal Officer.

Conclusions
In the end, there is one single reason to build a new fire station, to improve the delivery of fire
and emergency medical services to our community. Based on cost, optimization of response
times, a critical community interface, and site availability, I urge the Board of Trustees, in
cooperation with Village Council, to move forward with reconstruction of the downtown fire
station in its current location as outlined in the Moody Nolan report.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jeff A. Hussey, Fire Chief