Jennifer Kern
Staff Writer

As the city continues to grow, the needs of the fire department to maintain safety will expand as well.

That was the theme stressed by Fire Chief Gary Sigfrinius at the Forest Lake City Council meeting on Monday night.

He asked that further research into sites for a new station be conducted.

In a letter to Mayor Terry Smith and the council, he described the current station as ìbursting at the seams.î

Sigfrinius mentioned few locations in the city would accommodate a new station. He noted firefighters are required to live six minutes from the station, to ensure a quick call time. Based on that notion, Sigfrinius suggested the new location be in the central part of the city.

ìWe need to have a location close to where the current station is,î he urged.

Another stipulation is the land requirement. According to Sigfrinius, few properties in the central part of the city meet the space needs of a fire station.

He did suggest a location to the council though; the east-end property of the former District Memorial Hospital.

That site however, is currently leased by Lakes International Language Academy. Talks of selling the building and five acres of land for the schoolís use have increased within the last few months.

Due to the possible land sale at the former hospital site, Sigfrinius decided to address the situation to the council.

ìI felt I needed to bring this to you now,î he explained.

The council suggested exploring options in the southern and eastern portions of the city and recruiting firefighters that live in those areas, but Sigfrinius maintained the need for a central location.

ìFor daytime availability firefighters, (many of whom are downtown) we need to keep it close to the heart of the city,î he insisted.

He particularly doubted the need for an east station in the near future.

ìThe calls on the east side of the city donít support a new station,î he explained.

The council decided to have the city attorney, city administrator and Sigfrinius further research new location options.

Their findings would then be presented to the council.

ìBring back the real context of what we can do and what itís going to cost,î suggested councilmember Dick Tschida.

License revoked

Lakes Conoco, located at 1107 Hwy. 97, had its tobacco license temporarily revoked after failing two compliance checks caused by selling tobacco to minors.

According to city ordinance, if a location fails a compliance check twice within 12 months, the licensee is fined $250 and faces a license suspension. Lakes Conoco failed checks on June 21, 2004 and May 19, 2005.

At a public hearing on the matter prior to the regular meeting, Lakes Conoco owner Ron Vannelli said he tries to educate clerks on such sales.

However, he addressed the incident by stating, ìThereís no excuse.î

The council voted in favor of suspending the Lakes Conoco tobacco license for two days; July 26-27.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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