BOISE, Idaho — The City of Boise has been planning to build a new fire station in northwest Boise for nearly 20 years and the Boise Fire Department and the city council is working on settling on a final location for the fire station.
On Tuesday, Boise Fire gave the City Council a presentation about its preferred location for the station - on Gary Lane, near the intersection of Gary Lane and Tobi Street.
Fire Chief Dennis Doan says building a new fire station in that area of Boise has been in the works since the 2000s and different factors have forced the fire department to change possible locations for the fire station.
Originally, Boise Fire bought land for the new station on Pierce Park but that plan was scrapped after new factors made Gary Lane the best location for it.
The factors that played into the decision, according to Doan, are that the City of Boise has annexed more land near northwest Boise, the city now has a contract for service with North Ada Fire District and the City of Eagle has three fire stations.
A new fire station on Gary Lane would allow the city to enter a joint operation with the North Ada Fire District, which would split the costs and resources of the operations between them.
“This is going to provide great service to both the northwest part of our city and to Garden City and North Ada County,” he said. “This is really good government working together, this is what we want. This is a partnership between the city and North Ada County Fire and Rescue – working together to solve a problem, splitting the costs, and the apparatus and the people and the stations. This is what people want from us and this is what we should be doing.”
However, residents around Gary Lane have voiced concerns over the proposed station because it would be located right where a long-planned park would be.
Doan told City Council that the fire department would look at ways to incorporate green space into the design of the new station. A community garden could be added to the fire station's design.
According to Doan, Gary Lane is still just a proposal at this point and there are several more steps that the City Council and Boise Fire need to complete before moving forward. Doan says he hopes to have a decision on the proposed station by this fall.
The City of Boise does have a new fire station set in its budget for 2022.