City of Dike will hold public hearing for proposed fire station

DIKE – On Monday night, residents of Dike are invited to the Community Room at City Hall for a public hearing and informational meeting concerning the proposed construction of a new fire station at the northwest edge of town.
Mayor Mike Soppe, members of the city council, Fire Chief Marv Geiken, Brian Stark from Martin Gardner Architecture, and members of the Dike Fire and Rescue Building Committee will be present to explain the scope of the project, and address any questions, comments or concerns from the public.
Council member Luke Osterhaus, who has been part of the planning process for the proposed station, says the meeting will serve a dual purpose.
“It will satisfy the need to have a public hearing on the proposed bond issue and will also be used as a platform to share project specifics and answer any questions the public may have about the proposal,” he said. “Topics will include a presentation on why the project is needed, project location, bond details, expected tax impact to public, rural benefitted fire district agreement, and a Q&A session.”
The total project cost for the new station is expected to be right around $1.5 million, which would be funded by a 20-year general obligation – if residents vote to approve the issuance of the bond.
Osterhaus said he would urge residents of Dike to attend the meeting to find out more about the project before the March 6 bond referendum vote.
“We would encourage everyone to attend as this decision has the potential to greatly improve the quality of service and responsiveness to the needs of our community,” he said. “We are a tight-knit community and this department is what we rely on when tragedy strikes. Even those who have been fortunate enough to not need this service, have likely been impacted by someone who has. This discussion will allow the community to voice their supports and/or criticisms of this proposed project. We want everyone to have all of the information and facts before they go to the polls to decide how we will best equip our fire and rescue service moving forward.”
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register.