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Construction of a new Westby-Christiana Fire Station, to be located on the north end of the city, moved one step closer during a joint fire district meeting when bids on the new building were opened and tentatively approved, provided the town of Christiana membership approves the bid package during a public hearing scheduled for later in July.

If approval is granted the fire district would break ground on the building August 4. The cost of construction was placed at $467,639, including the acceptance of all of the lowest bids submitted.

The fire station will be located between Hansen’s IGA and Dollar General. The building will have a 36 x 24 meeting room and parking lot on the west side of the building and a five-bay vehicle housing area with exits facing State Hwy 27 to the east. The building will house the fire department and first responders.

Schroeder Construction from Sparta was selected to construct the building at a cost of $346,276 and will work with architect Brian Kortbein, from Cornerstone Architects of Tomah, as general contractors for the project. Bahr Electric of West Salem had the winning electrical bid of $26,388 and Schneider Plumbing and Heating of Richland Center was awarded the HVAC and plumbing job with a combined bid of $64,064. Mathy Construction will provide the paving at a cost of $30,911 and the fire district is responsible for tree stump removal.

Earlier this year the fire district received eight bids on the project, which they opened on Jan. 9. But after some confusion on building spec requests and in all fairness to all the contractors the fire district agreed to invest district money from the building fund and start the bidding process over, once they received state approved plans. The fire district hired an architect to design the plans and after receiving state approval of the plans they readvertised the fire station for contract bids.

The Westby-Christiana Fire District was formed in 2001. The district is a joint venture between the city of Westby and the town of Christiana, where fire department volunteers provide fire protection to the two areas, and are funded jointly from the two governmental bodies. The city of Westby provides two-thirds of the fire department's operational budget, while the town of Christiana provides the remaining one-third. The fire department is currently housed on Melby Street and pays $8,400 annually to rent the city building.

According to Fire Chief Monte Torgerson the department has outgrown the current building and is in need of a new structure. They have 24 volunteer firemen and a meeting room they all can’t fit in. The department has struggled for years with the confined space problems, which escalated when the fire district purchased a new fire engine and now have only inches to spare on each side of the garage door openings

“We even had to remove the vehicle decking to make it fit through the doors of the station,” Torgerson said.

For years safety issues have also been a major concern of Torgerson, who fears the increased traffic load on Main Street places his department in imminent danger when they leave the building on Melby Street and have to enter the highway. Although he has heard a scattering of other possible solutions versus constructing a new building, the end result would cost the fire district more money in the long run.

Since its development the six years ago the fire district has been budgeting funds for a new building. By the end of 2007 the district building fund had $114,000 in the account. In 2004 the district purchased a construction site for $10,000 in the Westby Industrial Park to construct a new fire station when the time was right. In the fall of 2007 the anticipated completed cost of the new building was $350-375,000.

In order to complete the project the district will require approximately $360,000 jointly from the city of Westby (2/3) and the town of Christiana (1/3) in additional funds. During the bid opening the city of Westby approved its financial portion of the joint agreement, but while Christiana board representative David Eggen tentatively agreed with the decision to move forward with the project he told the fire district he could not financially approve the new construction without a public hearing, due to the fact that the township would have to borrow money to move forward with the project. An earlier township polled found the majority of residents agreed to the new building construction.

The town of Christiana will hold its public hearing at the Westby Community Center and an open house at the current fire station is being planned to coincide with the meeting. Everyone from the fire district is invited to attend the meeting and view the architectural design plans and tour the current facility. Public hearing ads will be posted in the Westby Times later in July.