Borough, Houston plan fire stations

PALMER — The West Lakes Fire Department is getting a new fire station and its neighbor, the Houston Fire Department, likely is as well.

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly has approved a West Lakes Fire Department plan to spend $500,000 on a building near Parks Highway and Johnson Road.

“This facility is an incredible opportunity for us to purchase a ready-made fire station,” said West Lakes Chief Bill Gamble.

He said getting a new fire station is part of the department’s overall plan to improve on its rating from the Insurance Services Organization. The station, equidistant to two existing fire stations, covers a hole in coverage that the organization identified when last it came to inspect the department, Gamble said.

“This station is the cornerstone of our ISO plan,” he said.

The plan, though, hasn’t been without its controversy, at least not from Houston Mayor Roger Purcell’s perspective.

Purcell is planning his own fire station, a fire complex really, with training facilities and a helipad, about a mile as the crow flies from the West Lakes station. He said the city has already started spending money on the project and is seeking millions in federal stimulus money.

In his view, Purcell said, building both stations doesn’t make sense. The borough should instead rent space from Houston once the city has its station built.

He also accused Gamble of not putting out the full story, saying that two ambulances won’t fit in the proposed building.

Gamble said that’s not true. The ambulances will fit. They’ll be a little tight, but it’s not unworkable.

When Gamble testified at a Tuesday borough assembly meeting, the assembly took the opportunity to pepper him with questions about Houston’s objections.

“The proposed site in Houston does not meet all of our ISO coverage needs,” he said.

Borough Mayor Talis Colberg asked if the overlapping stations would be a problem, if the city and the borough would wind up competing for funds for station improvements or apparatus to house at the new stations, Gamble said he didn’t think that would be a problem.

“I think they would just complement each other,” he said.

Assemblywoman Cindy Bettine asked Purcell if the borough moving ahead with the West Lakes station would halt the city’s efforts.

“We have to continue on,” Purcell said.

Eventually the measure to fund the West Lakes plan passed unanimously, but not before Bettine urged Houston and West Lakes to bury the hatchet.

“I don’t want to offend anyone, but we’ve got to quit the bickering here,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.