Schools sell land to township for new fire station

Plan is to build facility to replace Washington Twp.’s oldest station.

Centerville City Schools plan to sell about 5 or 6 acres of land to Washington Twp. for a new fire station.

The vacant land is on the south side of Franklin Street adjacent to Centerville High School, and the plan is to build a new station to replace Washington Twp. Fire Department’s oldest station – 41 - at 163 Maple Ave., it was announced Tuesday.

The township would buy the land for $42,000 an acre, according to the purchase agreement. In 2019, township and Centerville residents approved by a 63-37 margin a continuous, 2.85-mill levy to fund fire services, including a new station.

“Moving Station 41 from its current location to one that can provide more efficient service to the community is one example of how we continue to fulfill our levy promise to residents,” Township Administrator Jesse Lightle said in a statement.

Station 41 is more than 50 years old and is a few blocks off Main Street, lacking direct access to a main thoroughfare, officials said.

The Franklin Street site also provides enough land to build “a properly sized station that meets the needs of adequate staffing and modern fire and EMS apparatus,” township officials said.

The land is part of about 66 acres the school district bought

east of Centerville High School in 2017 to help “provide options,” including another access route to the school, Superintendent Tom Henderson told the board of education Monday night before it approved the purchase agreement.

The sale would still allow for another entrance/exit for CHS, he said.

Township officials “feel like that would give them good access to Franklin Street to help their response times,” Henderson said. “So they’d like to have the opportunity to be on the front part of the property.

“Quite frankly, we like the opportunity to have safety so close to Centerville High School,” he added.

No closing date has been announced, but the township has at least 90 days before committing to the sale, the purchase agreement states.

The next step will be to have the land surveyed, according to Sarah Swan, community relations specialist for Centerville schools.