For the second year in a row, you will get to voice your opinion on a new public safety building in Algoma. Last year, over 60 percent of voters voted against a new facility located on Sunset Avenue that would have housed the city’s police, Fire, and EMS departments. . The new building is needed because the fire department has outgrown its current station on 3rd Avenue, which was confirmed in a space needs analysis performed by the city three years ago. Last year, Algoma Fire Chief Tom Ackerman said the new area kept the health and safety of its volunteer fire department in mind.
After last year’s failure, the city adjusted the scope of its plan in anticipation of having to go to a referendum again. The redesigned facility will now house the Fire and the EMS departments, keeping the Algoma Police Department at city hall for now. That allowed the cost to be cut from $5.7 million to $3.7 million and to reduce the repayment term from 40 years to 30 years. Algoma City Administrator Matt Murphy hopes the new plan addresses last year’s citizen worries and the current woes of its public safety departments.
The city will host public information meetings on March 7th and 29th at the Algoma Performing Arts Center from 6 to 8 p.m.