The DeForest Village Board voted 7-0 in favor of two resolutions that will set the future of the DeForest Windsor Fire-EMS District in motion on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The Windsor Village Board also voted unanimously in favor of the two agreements during their Thursday, Jan. 18 meeting.
The first DeForest board resolution, 2024-010, was the last step needed for the two municipalities to begin preparing a joint needs assessment for public safety facility impact fees.
The study will analyze current department expenditures and service fees, in addition to where those figures are trending for the future. DeForest Village Administrator Bill Chang said that discussions regarding the purchase of a second fire station and a new fire engine were driving factors behind the assessment.
The most recent update to public safety impact fees was in 2005, according to DeForest village staff. Considering the community's expansion since that time, demand continues to grow for updated and expanded services which can incur expensive costs.
The two municipalities worked with Baker Tilly in the latter half of 2023 to gauge cost estimations for the project. According to Windsor village staff, the study will cost around $20,000. This expenditure will be split by both municipalities.
The second approved resolution by the DeForest board, 2024-011, pertains specifically to the design of the proposed second fire station for the district.
This agreement lays out the framework for the two villages to contract architectural design services for a second fire station to be located in Windsor Crossing.
Windsor will be responsible for facilitating the project's request for proposal. But, the joint DeForest-Windsor Fire & EMS Board will take the lead during the design process as way to ensure fair decision making.
The timeline for this project has been set up incrementally. After the first design phase is complete, supplying a proposed layout and estimated cost, Windsor will have to come to a lease agreement with the Fire & EMS District. But for now, the two municipalities will share costs of the design process proportional to their contributions towards the district's budget.
Future agreements between both municipalities will be necessary as each step of the process is completed. Windsor will own the project once fund allocations for the future facility are set in stone, according to DeForest Village Staff.
The adopted resolutions and their subsequent agreements can be viewed through the online DeForest Village Board agenda from Feb. 6.
Residents can also keep their eyes on the joint Fire & EMS Board to stay up to date with the future second fire station. The results of Baker Tilly's needs assessment will be presented to both villages when it is complete.
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