North Liberty picks fire station site, advances new park proposal

North Liberty City Council moved forward Feb. 14 with plans to construct a second fire station and purchase a property to build out a new park. With the approved motion Tuesday, the city of North Liberty will take further steps to locate a fire station across from Centennial's Park western access drive to "improve our fire response as our community continues to grow," according to agenda documents. The preliminary plan includes three acres of land to accommodate the fire station and related infrastructure improvements. It would include a gathering space for meetings, birthday parties and other small events to allow the building to be "more than just a fire station." "It will do more good out there than a hindrance, especially to the neighborhood, so I'm really happy that we might possibly have it in this location" said North Liberty mayor Chris Hoffman. While half a dozen other locations have been considered, the other potential site getting the most attention was across from Centennial Park's eastern access drive, also along Saint Andrews Drive. It was ultimately rejected in favor of the western access point option. The city expects this new fire station will reduce response times to better serve residents.

North Side Community Park plan advances

A resolution of approval to proceed with improvement of the North Side Community Park project, and a resolution establishing fair market value and just compensation for acquiring the property were unanimously passed Tuesday. The park would stretch 41 acres east of North Jones Blvd and would be acquired from the Meade Family Limited Real Estate Partnership. The land is appraised at $2.52 million. North Liberty began negotiating deals with property owners to acquire land for a fire station and community park in July. In November, an attorney for the Meade family told city council that the family doesn't think the land is a good fit for the park, asking city council to evaluate other sites, as reported by The Gazette. North Liberty can acquire the property using eminent domain if necessary, agenda documents show.