The city of Shawnee is planning substantial renovations for two fire stations and has budgeted $1.6 million for the two projects.
Fire Station 71 — the Shawnee Fire Department’s headquarters that are also known as the John B. Glaser Fire Station — and Fire Station 73 both have aging facilities, inadequate capacity and other deficiencies for a department serving the city’s growing population.
Both fail to address privacy concerns for co-ed living quarters.
The Shawnee City Council is also interested in exploring costs to completely rebuild a new fire station for headquarters instead of renovating it.
About Fire Station 71: The John B. Glaser Fire Station was initially built in 1979 and served both fire and police needs. The last major renovation was in 1987, according to city documents. The station houses 12 operational fire personnel, two Johnson County Med-Act staff members, five administrative personnel and two fire prevention officers.
City staff said the department has outgrown the facility’s spatial and functional needs, and the building has “significant” aging mechanical, electrical and plumbing challenges.
About Fire Station 73: Fire Station 73 was built in 1989 and also serves as a space for the city’s public works department. The station houses four operational fire personnel and two Johnson County Med-Act staff members.
The city of Shawnee is planning substantial renovations for two of its fire stations in the coming months.
The latest: The city council on Monday unanimously approved a roughly $176,500 contract with GLMV Architecture to handle conceptual design for renovations of the two fire stations.
The project scope includes:
- Renovation or new construction of Fire Station 71
- Renovation of Fire Station 73
- Construction of a vehicle storage facility at the Public Works Service Center to replace the vehicle equipment bays at Fire Station 73, which will be converted into space for use by the fire department
- Development of a master plan for the public works department to address future vehicle and material storage facilities at the Public Works Service Center
What’s next: The city will next hire a construction manager, review the design concepts and construction cost estimates, hire an architect for the second half of the projects, then approve final plans.
Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2021 and take about nine months to complete. Both fire stations are expected to operate during construction.
