BLM: Fire station location is not a done deal

The Bureau of Land Management has not made a final decision to build a fire station on the city's south side, according to a representative.

Keith Barker of the BLM Carson City fire field office said the agency is still studying a site at the base of the Prison Hill open space area, east of the intersection of South Edmonds Drive and Koontz Lane.

"At this point, no decision has been made on this project," he said Friday.

Residents criticized the plan last month at a city meeting. They said it doesn't belong in a residential area and would cut off access to open space.

BLM would use the building with the U.S. Forest Service to hold housing for 40 seasonal firefighters, training classrooms, storage and possibly a garage for fire trucks.

The fire station would help recruit and retain fighters by providing them housing, BLM representatives have said.

Ken Smihula of the BLM Carson City fire field office said at the city meeting that the agency looked for five years for the right spot. The proposed site is the only place in the city that has the infrastructure and space needed, he said.

But Barker said BLM still needs to study the five- to seven-acre site more to see if the fire station will cause any problems for Carson City.

Part of the study will be developing alternative plans to the proposed site, he said.

Linda Kelly, the BLM Sierra Front Field Office manager in Carson City, will make the final decision of where the fire station will be built, Barker said.

Supervisor Pete Livermore said he wants to meet with BLM and hold a neighborhood meeting about the fire station.

This might convince the agency to change its plan in the same way the city and residents convinced NV Energy earlier this year to bury power lines running through a neighborhood on South Saliman Road, Livermore said.

The city has no authority to stop the BLM fire station, city staff have said.

About 300 homes could be affected by the fire station if it built, said Bill Davies, who lives near the proposed site.

He said he hopes the city negotiates with BLM. The agency has many places to choose from that aren't in a residential area, he said.

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.