City of Wausau Looking to Replace Central Fire Station

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) It will likely be a slow process as the City of Wausau looks to replace the central fire station, or fire station #1.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, the facility on Grand Avenue has become outdated, and incoming Fire Chief Jeremy Kopp says several areas just aren’t adequate by today’s standards.

Mayor Katie Rosenberg says city staff have heard those issues, and are ready to close a land purchase for what will one day be the new facility. That doesn’t mean construction will begin immediately.

“Closing is on the 15th (Wednesday,)” said Rosenberg. “We are not ready to build another fire station just yet. Obviously, we just built station #2 [at a cost of] $4 million. We’re not quite there yet, but we want to have the property settled.”

She says they are being especially conscious of the city’s increasing tax rate, which went up by another quarter this year. Meaning now is not the time for more borrowing.

“That’s a discussion we will continue to have at the finance committee level, at the city level. We are talking about closing Tax Increment District (TID) 6, which would open some opportunities for us,” said Rosenberg.

There’s also the possibility of a new public works garage on the west side. She says they want to be careful to start those projects without putting a significant burden on the taxpayers. “It’s in the works, but we aren’t quite there yet. We’re really exited but we have to wait,” added Rosenberg.

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