Because of the growth of the community, we've had to increase manpower over the years. So we've outgrown these two stations considerably. |
Part of it was just inflation, but a big reason for the increase is we have to bring those two stations up to the 2003 building code, which requires them both to have sprinkler systems. That was something I hadn't budgeted for. When I found out about it, the hair went up on the back of my neck. |
These stations are occupied with personnel 24 hours a day, and if you have mixed genders on the force, you can see where things could get crowded. It's one thing when you have only guys in a station, but when males and females are in the same structure, it can get dicey. |
We've been planning for this for several years, and the original budget for the renovations was $500,000 (for each station), but that ended up being about $250,000 short. |