Sycamore fire station timeline, financing on Monday’s City Council agenda

SYCAMORE – Ahead of an anticipated presentation on the matter, Sycamore officials say the city can afford a new fire station without additional taxes.

City Manager Michael Hall, who in July said the total project cost is estimated at about $10.4 million, wrote in an email to Shaw Local that he believes the city can finance a new Fire Station No. 1 without additional taxes by refinancing city debt.

“I am recommending the City Council apply the current principal and interest payments from the police station update to the new fire station’s General Obligation Bond. This strategy will eliminate the need for additional taxes/revenue to cover the payments, which are approximately $600,000 per year over 20 years for an $8 million borrowing,” Hall wrote. “The remaining $2.4 million will be funded through ambulance revenue.”

Sycamore City Council will be presented with a bond analysis and timeline of the proposed new Fire Station No. 1 at its Monday meeting, according to the meeting agenda.

City Council has not yet given its final approval for the project, but if it does, the facility would be built on 6 acres of land donated to the city by Ideal Industries, 1375 Park Ave., in January.

In August 2023, Oak Brook-based FGM Architects was awarded an $86,920 contract for the preliminary design and concept plan of a new Fire Station No. 1 building, and in May the architecture firm was authorized by the city to finalize the designs and expected costs for the proposed new building.

On Monday, City Council will hear about different ways the city can borrow money to pay for the new building, Hall wrote.

“Baird developed multiple borrowing scenarios based on their knowledge of current interest rates. The current scenario was developed by the Sycamore Finance Director and me about three or four months ago,” Hall wrote.

In July, a special City Council meeting was held in Streamwood, inside an FGM-designed fire station, to help city officials better visualize what a new fire station would look like.

The Streamwood station is about 4,000 square feet larger than what’s being considered for a plot of land near the corner of Borden Avenue and South Prairie Drive, but Hall wrote that he thinks the meeting helped the council members understand what could be built.

“The purpose of the tour was to show the City Council what the new fire station would look like, and I believe it successfully accomplished that goal. I think Streamwood’s fire station is an efficient and practical layout,” Hall wrote.