Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The North Routt Fire District is ready to move ahead with plans for its new fire station now that the district has secured funding and land for the building.

The fire district will unveil plans for the new station at a Routt County Planning Commission meeting tonight. The fire station is to be built at Steamboat Lake State Park.

The board will review an application at 6 p.m. in the commissioners hearing room on the second floor of the courthouse annex, 136 Sixth St. The district is seeking a permit in order to build the station.

The district proposes to build the new station on five acres of land between County Road 29 and County Road 62. The rear of the property is bordered by Willow Creek.

The 9,000-square-foot facility will cost an estimated $900,000. It will have four bays three for the fire district and one for the county's road department.

The station will also house a conference room, office, sleeping quarters and storage areas.

The station will be brown with a green roof and a log finish on the front. The building's color scheme is intended to be consistent with nearby state park buildings.

Also included in the proposal are a 260-foot fuel storage facility, an underground 15,000-gallon water tank, a sewage disposal system and 13 parking spaces.

Residents in North Routt approved a mill levy increase last fall to help pay for the new station. The land swap for the site has been approved by the State Parks Board.

Last November, North Routt residents approved a $1.2 million bond issue for the station. The district has been awarded a $200,000 Energy Impact Grant, and Routt County has agreed to provide $150,000 toward the project.

In March, the State Parks Board approved a land swap between Steamboat Lake State Park and North Routt resident Terry Hunt.

Hunt gave up five acres of his land, which is where the station will be built, in return for five acres of park land. The land swap took two years to get done, and the district will pay Steamboat Lake State Park $10 a year to lease the property.

Officials are hopeful the county will approve of the new fire station so work on the building can start May 15. Officials want to have the building operational by fall.

The district is planning to build the fire station to go along with its current facility in Clark. The new station is being built to improve fire protection and emergency services to the Steamboat Lake area.