Emerald Knights could be fire station site, Cedar Rapids chief says

Fire Chief Steve Havlik, who is retiring March 1, wasn't sure he'd see it happen on his watch. But on Thursday he did.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, after two rejections, said it would pay to rebuild the city's flood-wrecked Central Fire Station at a new location so the city didn't have to rebuild at the flood-prone, current spot, 222 Third St. NW.

“I've been waiting for this official word on the relocation, and I feel so good that it happened while I'm still in office,” Havlik said last night. “It's a good feeling that we're moving forward, and that we're going to get a new station. It's going to be great for the community.”

Havlik said the city has identified four or five possible locations for the new Central Fire Station, but he said owners of some of the sites are not necessarily aware the city has been looking at their property.

One of the sites, the chief said, is the so-called Emerald Knights site between First and Second avenues SE and Seventh and Eighth streets SE, which is one of three sites being explored for a new library.

“We don't want to get in the way of the library,” the chief said, so the Fire Department will wait on the site until after the City Council makes a decision on the library location, expected on Feb. 24.

Havlik said the Emerald Knights site did offer easy access to Interstate 380 for fire trucks. He added that a site in that vicinity might allow the department to close the district fire station near Coe College and move those resources elsewhere.

Greg Eyerly, the city's flood-recovery director, said last night he knew of a "couple" possible sites for the new Central Fire Station "clustered" in the area of the city where the Emerald Knights site is at.

Mayor Ron Corbett late Thursday afternoon said the city would conduct a site-selection process similar to one now under way for the library. Corbett noted that City Manager Jim Prosser is interviewing fire chief candidates, and Corbett said the new chief will play a role in the site selection.

The mayor, who has expressed support for putting the library on the Emerald Knights site, said one of his concerns is taking too much private property off the tax rolls for new public buildings. Getting the former library site on First Street SE into private hands and back on the tax rolls would help, he said.

Gov. Chet Culver announced the FEMA decision at an afternoon news conference at the African American Museum of Iowa, where he was to look over the help state I-JOBS funds had provided the museum. Congressman Dave Loebsack also was there as well as Mayor Ron Corbett.

Corbett said Loebsack's office had informed city officials earlier Thursday of the news on the Central Fire Station.