Village of Park Ridge officials have cut four options to address the needs of its Fire Department in half, deciding to eliminate contracting with Stevens Point for services or replacing only one fire engine.

The Village Board voted to eliminate those two options during a special board meeting on Wednesday, April 6. The board will meet again on Monday, April 18, for its regularly scheduled board meeting. The fire department will be one of the items up for discussion. Village Board President Kathy Budelier said she does not anticipate a vote on the fire department’s future at that time.

“We want to be able to move ahead in the near future, but we also recognize that we need more information before we say, ‘This is what we’re doing,’” she said. “We are still gathering information.”

Following a public hearing last month, the Village Board opted to hold a special meeting to narrow options, if possible. Budelier said based on the community input, it was clear that residents wanted to maintain the function of its own volunteer Fire Department.

The two remaining options are replace Engine 1 and convert the existing Engine 1 into a hose wagon or build a new vehicle bay building, replace Engine 1 and convert the existing Engine 1 into a hose wagon.

Replacing and converting has a preliminary cost of about $240,000. Of that, about $220,000 is estimated for replacing Engine 1. Whatever vehicle the village purchased for the replacement in this option would have to be customized to fit in the existing bay, which has about 11-foot ceilings and a garage door height of about 9-1/2 feet, Budelier said.

The vehicles inside are wall to wall, with inches in the back and enough room to sneak through between the front of the vehicles and the closed garage door if people slide through sideways.

To replace Engine 1, convert and build a new bay building, preliminary cost figures hit about $270,000. Constructing the stand-alone building is estimated at $170,000, purchasing a used engine with the same capabilities as the existing truck is estimated between $60,000 and $100,000, and converting the existing Engine 1 to a hose wagon is estimated at $20,000.

“We decided to give serious consideration to options 3 and 4 and do more research on option 4 (building and replacing) so we have really good numbers,” Budelier said.

The village has three vehicles that operate for fire department functions. Engine 1 is a 1994 International that has a 1,250-gallon per minute pump, 1,000 gallons of water and four self-contained breathing apparatus; it is the primary vehicle for putting water on a fire.

Engine 2, the hose wagon, is a 1980 Chevrolet with a 450-gallon per minute pump, 800 gallons of water, two self-contained breathing apparatus, and 2,900 feet of hose. The primary function of this engine is to bring the water to Engine 1 through the hose from the nearest fire hydrant to the location it is needed. The need to replace this hose wagon spurred the discussion on what the village might do long-term to address the needs of the Fire Department.

The third vehicle is the squad, a 1974 International which serves as crew transport, command, power/lighting, firefighter accountability and rehabilitation, air supply, and also holds mechanic’s tools, a cascade system to refill water bottles, a kitchen area with refrigerator, computer/internet/printer, multiple radios and other command and control equipment.

While to some contracting with the city of Stevens Point might make sense since the village is surrounded by the city, it would have cost almost twice as much annually to contract with the city of Stevens Point for services compared to the cost of maintaining a volunteer Fire Department, according to preliminary numbers.

“There are a whole lot of unknowns (with contracting services),” Budelier said. “And once you go down that road, you have to stay there.”

Community members voiced pride in having their own Fire Department and desire to keep the department with the village, she said.

Although the village has been looking at this issue for some time, Budelier said board members want to make sure they have as much information as they possibly can, including more accurate cost figures, before they make a decision.

Residents who have questions or want to weigh in on the issue are welcome to contact the Village Hall or board members as they continue this process.