The dream of a west side fire station is moving closer and closer to reality.

A consideration concerning the proposed west side fire station was adopted by the DeKalb City Council Monday night.

“Considerations can come back as resolutions or ordinances, they’re a first step,” said First Ward Alderman Amy Polzin. “We (the council) will look at numbers and determine which way we want to go before any resolution.”

City Engineer Ralph Tompkins said the Fire Station #3 Committee is working on the basic design of the station and site development.

A report from the committee to DeKalb Mayor Greg Sparrow and the council outlined the parameters of the station.

“The proposed basic station would be a two-bay, double deep fire station with a total square footage of approximately 5,500 square feet,” the report stated. “This facility is expected to house up to eight firefighters and two to four pieces of fire department apparatus.”

The city council also could decide to alter this proposed plan. Three bid alternatives will be included in the bidding process, so the council will be able to decide at the time of the bid award whether to accept any of the different designs.

“We want to see what’s going to be the biggest bang for the buck,” Polzin said. “We’ll get some concrete figures and facts to look at.”

The alternatives would be to build a third bay for cold storage or additional equipment, a full or partial basement or bid two different types of structures.

“The first structure would be a stick-built building with the second type a premanufactured structure,” the report stated.

The site where the fire station will likely be built is West Dresser Road, north of the residence halls. “The site is close to Annie Glidden, near the water tower,” Polzin said.

City Manager Bill Nicklas said there are a few problems with the site. There is a lack of a sanitary sewer in the near vicinity of the site, Nicklas said. Also, the Dresser Farm is not annexed to the city of DeKalb, but is part of DeKalb County.

Tompkin’s report stated that the station could be constructed by late fall of 1994, but he stressed this is a broad guideline and it still is impossible to create any type of definitive schedule.

There are many things that have to be dealt with before construction begins, Polzin said.

“Now we are trying to get architectural drawings and costs, then we can put it out on bid,” she said. “Then, we either accept or reject the bids and go from there.”