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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 6, 2004 Page 7 1 Mr. Archambault stated this has been covered extensively at open houses and other presentations 2 before the City Council. He thanked the petition committee for raising the issues and their effort 3 put forth over the holidays. He stated that is a commendable thing and he wished they had that 4 enthusiasm and knowledge to assist them while on the task force. 5 6 Mr. Archambault explained that the Study Group started out with a clean slate and no idea if 7 they should even have a fire station or where it should be put. The Study Group was comprised 8 of 19 common citizens with different areas of expertise and the ability to ask consultants on 9 financial, safety, and construction matters. Those resources were at their disposal. 10 11 Mr. Archambault stated that when you get 19 people with infinite possibilities before them, they 12 need a process to make a recommendation. The Study Group looked at remodeling the exiting 13 location and at every open property available at that time. The temporary site was not 14 considered since it was not available at that time. Mr. Archambault stated that through the 15 process, he was impressed with City staff, the City Council, and the people on the Study Group 16 who were sincere to find the correct answer to a problem with multiple variables. Mr. 17 Archambault stated the Study Group drilled the City staff to justify space needs, explain needs, 18and justify their recommendation. The Group spent hundreds of hours exploring these issues. 19 20 Mr. Archambault noted that one thing that gets lost to most of us is the dedication and truly good 21 intentions and studiousness of people on the City Council. He stated he has been nothing but 22 impressed in public and private conversation with what they do. Mr. Archambault suggested 23 that many do not realize the hundreds of hours the City Council puts in on our behalf for a very 24 small stipend and also the time they take away from full-time jobs. He emphasized that the City 25 Council is comprised of very dedicated people who deserve our thanks. 26 27 Mr. Archambault stated the central location was key because in talking with fire fighters, they 28 expressed the desire to not only maintain the average response time, including people who walk 29 in with a medical emergency, to other areas and calls. As the Northwest Quadrant is developed, 30 response times to that area will become very important, especially since it will contain senior 31 housing. The farther the location of the fire station is from the core, the longer the response 32 times will be. To look at the best location for the next 50 years, it was determined that a central 33 location was critical according to the professionals that were consulted. 34 35 Mr. Archambault noted that if you have an event like a medical emergency, every second does 36 count. If the response is beyond four minutes,people begin to lose brain function. Mr. 37 Archambault noted that if the fire station is located in the southeast location, it is a six-minute 38 call to Apache Medical plus the time to get into the site and begin to administer CPR or other 39 medical attention. That did drive the central location decision. 40 41 Mr. Archambault advised that the Study Group also looked at the impact of the fire station on 42 the immediate neighborhood. They found that of all the sites studied, and every site was studied, 43 if you draw a 500-foot radius circle around the site, only one site had fewer residences than the 44 site selected. That was the former site being considered for redevelopment. He explained that 45 the bowling alley site had over 200 residents within a 500-foot radius. Some are rentals and 46 apartments but those uses also impact property values. He stated if looking at residents of the