Groveland Twp.- Township officials say that plans are underway for a new fire station which will include facilities for the Michigan State Police.
‘The current facility, Groveland Township Fire Station No. 1 is about 60 years old and not so efficient,? said Robert DePalma, Groveland Township supervisor. ‘I’ve notified the Michigan State Police that we’ll provide a post for you and couple it with the township fire station. Our last conversation with the troopers was last year and we asked them for some ideas of what they wanted in a post.?
‘Regardless of what happens to the current State Police Post in Groveland we’ll still build a new fire station.?
DePalma along with others are clashing with Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s newly proposed budget which calls for the closure of the Groveland, Grand Haven, and Iron River State Police posts on Oct. 1. The savings are estimated at $1.1 million yet officials are balking at the proposal and the savings.
DePalma says that plans have been discussed over the past few years to move the post and fire station to a 147 acre parcel north of the current facility owned by the township near Grange Hall Road and Dixie Highway.
About $225,000 has been put aside to partially fund the project with the balance gleaned from the sale of the current Groveland Township Fire Station No. 1 located near Grange Hall Road and Dixie Highway. The six acres of township property should sell for about $1 million and fund the additional cost of the new building.
‘The current Fire Station One is about 14,000 square feet but is laid-out poorly for the fire station and post,? said Steve McGee, Groveland Township fire chief. ‘The proposed station will be both larger and organized better.?
‘Station one is our busiest station due to Mt. Holly, the Renaissance Festival, I-75, plus the nearby county and state parks. The calls are about four-to-one over station two.?
Currently, six fire trucks are housed at Groveland Township Fire Station No. 1 which is fully manned 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Groveland Township Fire Station No. 2, 3085 Grange Hall Road, opened in 2001 at a cost of $800,000 and is also fully manned.