Solon Fire Department hosting fundraiser for new station

Dealing with mounting calls for service in cramped quarters on a crowded downtown street, the Solon Tri-Township Fire Department is looking to relocate to a new fire station.

To help with the move, the department is on a fundraising campaign to help cover the cost of a new facility, which has been projected at around $4.3 million.

The department is hosting an open house Thursday to let the public see the current space and talk about the possibilities of a new fire station on the south side of town, near Solon's Dairy Queen.

The open house will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Solon's current fire station at 131 N. Iowa St.

'We want everybody to see kind of what we have now,” Fire Chief Bob Siddell said. 'Solon has been growing quite a bit, and it's continuing to grow. We're just landlocked, we can't expand where we're at, unfortunately.”

Siddell said the space has gotten so cramped that some purchased equipment will have to be stored outside the station.

So far, the Solon Tri-Township Emergency Response Agency has raised about $275,000, Siddell said.

What's more, the agency cannot bond for the funds, so any gap in funds raised would have to be filled by a loan, he said.

'That's kind of why we're trying to make a fundraising effort work, so we can raise it instead of borrowing,” he said.

Siddell said the agency is set to review the project in January 2020 to see where fundraising efforts are and determine if any cost savings can be identified in the project.

Siddell said the new space would not only provide more room, but the location also would reduce response times.

l Comments: (319) 398-8309; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com