Jessica Mathews / new@whmi.com


A bond proposal for the construction of a new fire headquarters building and the purchase of a new aerial ladder truck will greet voters in Green Oak Township on Tuesday.

Green Oak Fire Chief Kevin Gentry says they’re looking to replace the existing main headquarters with a new building, which would house the current operations from Whitmore Lake Road and Silver Lake Road. He said it would be located near the new police station, but back on the hill because the current building happens to be pretty much in the way of the expansion of Whitmore Lake Road - which will happen with the installation of a roundabout next year.

Gentry noted the current station was built in 1992 and was designed for a department with one full-time employee, running around 300 calls a year. He says the department is at eight full-time employees and 1,900 calls a year and the station has not grown at all. Gentry said the biggest problem is that they have around-the-clock, on-duty coverage now but there’s nowhere at the main station for firefighters to sleep. The new building would have sleeping quarters to allow firefighters to be in the center of the township 24-7, 365 days.

Gentry said that would be a big improvement for residents as far as response times go because currently, at night, the only firefighters on duty are located at the 10 Mile/Rushton Road station - which is a long way away from several areas in the township.

The bond would also help replace the department’s 1995 aerial ladder truck, which was said to be far past its expected life span, and has become the biggest maintenance drain on the department’s budget as far as vehicle repairs.

Gentry said it’s become very expensive to maintain and is 27-years-old, with a 20-year expected lifespan. With the department’s mechanic, he says they’ve been maintaining it as best they can but the lack of parts is becoming a problem and it’s becoming very expensive to maintain.

The aerial ladder truck is used in a number of different situations. Gentry says the township currently has one four-story hotel now, but most likely another one will be built by the Legacy Center area, as well as some commercial buildings.

Gentry said a misunderstanding is that most people think because the truck is 101 feet tall, that it only goes to fires that tall. He says the reality is that the truck is used on larger residential fires as well, particularly a lot of the modern construction, which has multiple peaks on a roof and requires a ladder truck to safely get to the top.

Gentry explained the reason for proceeding with the August election and the need to go out to bid by September to get in line for the April construction season. If they waited until November, he says they wouldn’t have been able to go out to bid until December, which would have put them in the fall/winter 2022 construction season, and then they would have had to pay for what’s known as “winter condition”. Gentry says that’s basically paying to protect the workers and construction during the winter, which costs money that doesn’t go anywhere but into protection from the elements - so it’s essentially a waste of money and that’s why they’re going with the August request.

Gentry said the reason it’s a bond is so all the money would come in up front and the millage would be used to pay off the $12.5 (m) bond over 20 years. It’s 0.5905-mill to fund the bond. Gentry noted that covers all the fire protection in Green Oak as the department does not bill so fire services are completely covered by the one millage. The department is millage funded only; there is not any general fund contribution.

The township has been planning for the future to lessen the burden on taxpayers.
After the township built the new police station, which was done with entirely general fund monies, the township purchased the land for the new fire station. Gentry said the township paid for the planning, architecture work, and engineering all from the general fund so that money didn’t need to come from an additional levy.

Gentry said basically, the station is completely planned. If the proposal is approved, then the bond would go out in September and the building would go out for bid, with a projected start date for construction in April of 2023 as soon as the thaw happens. If all goes as planned, it could be complete by February of 2024.

More information about the bond proposal is available in the attachment and provided link. Gentry will also be a guest this Sunday morning at 8:30 on WHMI’s Viewpoint program.