(Left to right): Architect Bailey Merrill, Mayor Shanon Nowell, Councilor Ben Ranft, Councilor/Firefighter Darrell Pettis, Rep. Susan Akland, Councilor Dustin Sharstrom, Councilor Keri Johnson, Councilor Emily Bruflat, and Councilor Brad DeVos break ground on the St. Peter Fire Hall. Not pictured: Fire Chief Matt Ullman, Sen. Nick Frentz and Construction Manager Scott Umhoffer participated in the groundbreaking as well.
St. Peter Volunteer Firefighters celebrate the start of construction on the new fire hall. (Carson Hughes/southernminn.com)
Kids join in the fire hall groundbreaking ceremony. (Carson Hughes/southernminn.com)
A St. Peter Fire Truck was stationed at Broadway and Sunrise for the groundbreaking ceremony. (Carson Hughes/southernminn.com)
(Left to right): Architect Bailey Merrill, Mayor Shanon Nowell, Councilor Ben Ranft, Councilor/Firefighter Darrell Pettis, Rep. Susan Akland, Councilor Dustin Sharstrom, Councilor Keri Johnson, Councilor Emily Bruflat, and Councilor Brad DeVos break ground on the St. Peter Fire Hall. Not pictured: Fire Chief Matt Ullman, Sen. Nick Frentz and Construction Manager Scott Umhoffer participated in the groundbreaking as well.
City and state officials, local firefighters and contractors dug in their shovels on the corner of Sunrise Drive and Broadway Avenue to kick off construction of the new St. Peter Fire Station.
Mayor Shanon Nowell welcomed the crowd of volunteer firefighters and city staff Monday to witness the groundbreaking on a city project years in the making.
"It's the culmination of years of work by city staff and the City Council, so it's great to finally see it coming to reality," said Nowell. "We have such a wonderful, dedicated volunteer fire department and it feels to me like we are finally doing right by them. They really deserve this building that serves the needs of a modern fire department, not one that is almost 100 years old."
The planned 23,000-square-foot fire station will be more than triple the size of the current 8,000-square-foot station at the corner of West Mulberry and Third streets.
Notable additions to the new fire hall include an expanded apparatus bay with five exit doors for fire trucks, as well as a decontamination hall and a clean and fill station for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) equipment to protect firefighters' health and safety after responding to a call.
The $9.4 million project is to be paid off by St. Peter's new sales tax, which adds a half-cent to every dollar.
"It's a good feeling to be at this point where we're finally doing the groundbreaking," said Fire Chief Matt Ullman. "Since I've been on the committee, I think we started in the fall of [20]18 or spring of [20]19 for this project, but there's been talk about it for over 30 years."
St. Peter Volunteer Firefighters celebrate the start of construction on the new fire hall. (Carson Hughes/southernminn.com)
The fire chief kicked off introductions at the start of the groundbreaking ceremony. Ullman was followed by remarks from Sen. Nick Frentz (DFL-North Mankato), Rep. Susan Akland (R-St. Peter), Architect Bailey Merrill of Five Bugles Design and Construction Manager Scott Umhoffer of R.W. Carlstrom.
City councilors, state legislators, contractors and firefighters then planted their shovels into the symbolic mound of dirt and tossed the soil in celebration.
From this summer until late spring next year, construction on the new fire station will continue non-stop. In a next couple weeks, local residents can expect to see fencing planted to establish the construction site said Project Manager Dan Thompson of R.W. Carlstom.
Construction will begin with digging the ground and installing utilities in August. The structure of the building, made from precast concrete, will be erected in December, allowing work to continue indoors through the winter.
Kids join in the fire hall groundbreaking ceremony. (Carson Hughes/southernminn.com)
"The building will basically be built-in and closed right in the winter, and we will heat it for work to continue in anticipation of that late spring completion," said Thompson. "By the end of the year, you will see a physical building here."
A St. Peter Fire Truck was stationed at Broadway and Sunrise for the groundbreaking ceremony. (Carson Hughes/southernminn.com)
Once the building is complete, City Administrator Todd Prafke said the city will host an open house inside the new fire station so residents may see how their tax dollars were spent.
Reach Reporter Carson Hughes at 507-931-8575. ©Copyright 2022 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.
Data included is taken from the Minnesota Department of Health Daily reports. Because all data is preliminary, the change in number of cumulative positive cases and deaths from one day to the next may not equal the newly reported cases or deaths.
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