Durango Fire Protection District will give a presentation and allow the public to ask questions about its plans to turn the Durango School District 9-R Administration Building into a new downtown base of operations for fire services.
The fire district is hosting an in-person and virtual public forum Thursday evening about the downtown fire station project, which has drawn concern and criticism from some residents who say a fire station is out of character for that neighborhood and don’t want to see the east 200 block of 12th Street become clogged by emergency services.
The property currently houses Durango School District 9-R’s administrative offices at 201 E. 12th St. The school district sold the property to the fire district in December. Residents have raised concerns about transparency regarding the sale. The neighboring Buckley Park is not a part of the project.
The public forum is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the 9-R Administration Building.
The forum is scheduled to open with a presentation by Fire Chief Hal Doughty, which will be followed by a moderated question-and-answer session featuring pre-submitted questions from the public. Questions must be submitted online by Tuesday to be addressed during the public forum, according to the fire district’s website.
The downtown fire station project aims to move all of the fire district’s administrative offices into the 9-R Administration Building, according to a summary of project plans available on the fire district’s website. The administration building’s exterior is planned to be kept intact for its historical value, while the inside of the building is slated to be renovated and modernized.
The Big Picture High School building, which is on the same property, is planned to be demolished and replaced with a new apparatus bay and fire station crew quarters, according to a project summary. The fire district also submitted a proposal to the city to move Durango Police Department into the new fire headquarters, according to the fire district’s website.
Residents can submit questions, read frequently asked questions, review initial conceptual designs and listen to a joint fire district and City Council work session about the project on the fire district’s website at https://durangofire.org/new-downtown-fire-station/.
A livestream of the public forum is planned to be hosted on Durango Fire Protection District’s website.
Durango School District 9-R hosted a previous public hearing about the sale of Administration Building on Dec. 14, days before the sale was completed. Resident-submitted questions and the school district’s answers can be read at the school district’s website at https://bit.ly/3vU5i6I.
cburney@durangoherald.com
