Therefore, the purpose of the 2014 study was to build upon the assumptions and recommendation from the 2005 McGrath study and determine the best placement for a centralized headquarters at the Village Hall campus. In April, the Village Board approved the request of the Fire Company and hired Kunkel Engineering Group out of Beaver Dam to perform the study. On July 17th the Village Board held a special meeting in order to hear a presentation from Kunkel Engineering Group President Craig Kunkel on the results of his findings.
From the Richfield Volunteer Fire Company's perspective the study essentially looked at two options: 1) constructing an independent fire station and 2) building a fire station attached to the existing Village Hall. The Village's recently adopted 2014 Comprehensive Plan Update, Chapter 11: Community Vision and Implementation, states that it is expected for the Village Hall to be renovated or expanded sometime between the years of 2024-2028. At that time the Village Hall will be approximately 50 years old.
While the Village has no plans to improve the existing Village Hall, other than routine maintenance, it was determined that planning efforts should at a minimum consider the feasibility and potential cost of connecting to a proposed independent fire station on campus, so a third alternative was created.
The costs for each option range between:
Option No. 1 — $3,400,000.00 - $3,800,000.00
Option No. 2 — $4,500,000.00 - $4,900,000.00
Option No. 3 — $3,600,000.00 - $4,100,000.00
Based upon the analysis, it was recommend the Village of Richfield consider adopting either Option No. 1 or Option No. 2 to facilitate construction of a new fire house with facilities to meet the Company's needs (i.e.: overnight sleeping facilities, etc.). Moreover, the recommendation would include additional planning and site investigation work as a precursor to site development as a means to ensure what is built best meets the future needs of the Fire Company and that the proposed location will not negatively impact construction of the facility or subsequent additions.
A copy of the Kunkel report can be found within the September
18th Village Board Packet on the village web site.