ALPINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Voters in Alpine Township are being asked to approve a millage to fund a new fire house, bolster staffing and upgrade equipment.
“Because of the growth in Alpine Township, there is a definite need for additional staffing and a new station,’’ Alpine Township Fire Chief Dave Klomparens said.
If the millage is approved, a building purchased by the township would be renovated into a firehouse to replace Station #1, built in 1963.
An open house was scheduled Wednesday at the site of the proposed new fire house on Henze Drive NW. It is a short distance from the existing Station #1 on Alpine Church Road NW off of Alpine Avenue.
“We would just gut the inside, remodel that for offices and add apparatus bays, training rooms, locker rooms and showers,’’ Deputy Fire Chief Jeremy Kelly said. “The fire house we’re in doesn’t have showers.’’
Alpine Township is a paid on-call department with two fulltime employees, including Klomparens. The millage would allow for fulltime staffing around the clock.
In addition to the Station #1 on Alpine Church Road NW, the township maintains fire houses on Seven Mile Road NW east of Fruit Ridge Avenue and on Nine Mile Road NW east of Alpine Avenue.
Klomparens and Kelly say as the township grows, so should the fire department.
Call volume has gone up 20% since 2008. In 2019, the fire department ran 1,200 alarms.
“That’s a lot of alarms for a department of this size,’’ Klomparens said. “All hours of the day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.’’
About two-thirds of the calls are medical emergencies. Crews also respond to traffic accidents, several of which occur on busy M-37. Major commercial businesses are located within the township, as well as large industrial and agricultural operations.
Then there is the residential population – homeowners and renters. About 8,000 people live within a two-mile area of Station #1, which includes York Creek apartments. “It houses approximately 5,000 residents alone,’’ Klomparens said.
Kelly says staffing issues are a concern in Alpine Township and at other area fire departments. It is a challenge to get on-call staffing among those who work fulltime jobs, such as himself.
“The folks that run the calls in the middle of the night, the majority all get up the next morning to go to work,’’ he said. “There’s been times that I’ve run three alarms overnight and I am still to report to work at my normal scheduled time.’’
The need for additional staffing, equipment and a new fire station were addressed in a 2018 consultant’s report presented to the township.
It called for fulltime staff as well as paid on-call staff and a fire station that includes sleeping quarters. A larger station is needed to accommodate larger fire equipment, including the possibility of an aerial ladder.
The 2018 study by McGrath Consulting Group indicated the fire department accounted for about 20 percent of the township’s budget of about $2.5 million.
“This report is recommending that addressing staffing for the Alpine Township Fire Department should be the highest priority,’’ consultants wrote in the 83-page report. “The consultants have addressed the Alpine Township Fire Department fire stations needs and are recommending that Fire Station #1 be relocated, and a new fire station be constructed.
“Funding a new fire station will be a challenge that will require the support of the citizens and business community of Alpine Township,’’ the report states.
According to friendsofalpine.org, the request for 3.0208 mills will cost the owner of a home with a taxable value of $80,000 roughly 66 cents a day.
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