Fire chief makes northside, UWL stations current priorities

La Crosse’s fire chief would like to get construction work done on as many stations as possible, but costs are rising and money is tight.   

“If you can find another 10 million dollars or 20 million dollars, I can get all the stations done next year, I assure you that,” Chief Ken Gilliam told the city plan commission on Monday.

Gilliam said that he’s hoping to move ahead with construction of a new Gillette Street firehouse and a UWL station in the next couple of years, but the price of construction materials has been “volatile,” and he’s waiting to see how high the bids are on the proposed new stations.     

Some residents of north La Crosse, including city council member Andrea Richmond, are getting impatient for work to begin on a new fire station for the neighborhood. 

“Why can’t we go forward with getting the cost to build Station 4, or do we need to wait to see what’s gonna happen to the building, or can we just go forward?” said Richmond.

Gilliam says that if La Crosse continues to have only 4 fire stations instead of going to 5, some relocations may be needed:    

The chief says a 5th fire station on Mormon Coulee Road is still on the drawing board.  Meanwhile, he says the fire department needs more office space than it has now.