Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Melanie ZippstaffSouth Street extension is smart scale funding and the funding is starting in FY 26 through 29 with construction to hopefully start in 2028 and then fire station 3 is a general fund project funding is in place the goal was completion in the fall of 27 but the council is still evaluating that project and we will talk

the next three projects are highlighted because of the amount of discussion and the large price tag that these projects have but they're the same ones that you saw last year so the first one is fire station 33 a couple of highlights about Half of the funding has been appropriated, and the next half will come over the next three years. The building is actually older than Fire Station 33 was when we replaced that. However, we didn't own this building until last year when the volunteers signed it over to the city. The city acquired the property next door that was owned by George Mason University Foundation. We purchased that last year, and the building will be vacated after December 15th of this year.

City Council is still exploring the potential for a PPEA at the fire station or for the construction of the new fire station. They're actually meeting tomorrow at Station 33 at 1 o'clock to tour it and then moving over to Station 3 to tour that one as well. if you'd like to attend please show up at 1 o'clock at fire station 33 that's the station that's across the street from Fairwoods Parkway

Kirsten LockhartI'll start with a relative softball. Obviously, the expenses are the expenses, and we have to talk through them and present them. But the kind of parallel story, are there any cost reclamation stories that are going to be told along with this SIP? Like, is there a transfer of land possible with a fire station, for example? Or, you know, I know the city received a transfer via an inheritance, right, of a property along Main Street. Are there ways that some of these major expenses might be offloaded or softened a bit by some other things that are going on?

Melanie ZippstaffIt'll really depend, as far as the fire station goes, how the council decides to move forward with it. The idea was to, I believe, take down the Mason building, build our fire station there so that the existing one can still operate, because otherwise we would have to create some kind of temporary space for that station to operate out of if the fire station goes through a PPE a or doesn't it may take up both parcels it really depends on how the council decides to move forward on that project the Barker property you're talking about on was deeded to the city to remain parkland. I would have to check with the city attorney if we have the ability to sell that property or if we have to hold on to it. So I don't know the answer to

Matthew Riceyeah miss luck arts comments were essentially in the same area. I think finding some stories about money saved and things that we could do in the next 10 years to recoup money would definitely be worthwhile. I think at the same time, but in the opposite direction, would be strategic discussions with owners of other parcels, perhaps owned by the county or owned by other entities that plan to vacate those to arrive perhaps in the longer term longer than the cip at a place the property or it could go and i think you know we see five years but i think the the interest in a lot of these things stretches beyond five years you know fire station three's gonna have a long life we're looking at money and budgeting for five years but I think a perspective that's