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AUSTINTOWN – Thanks to a $ 50,000 grant from the Mahoning County Commissioners, Austintown No.1 Fire Station is getting a much needed parking upgrade.
The project is divided into several phases and the first phase at the rear of the property is almost complete. Construction of the new parking lot began on September 27.
“We wanted to do the back parking lot first because it makes sense with the flow of everything,” said Fire Chief Andy Frost III. “I have to keep the station open so that made sense.”
The new lot will be laid out according to road specifications due to the weight of the department’s fire trucks. Frost said a truck can weigh 45 tons, far from trucks when the station was built in the mid-1970s.
“When this was all built in the mid-1970s, the trucks weighed 40,000 pounds. Now they weigh over 90,000 pounds, so you have to make the parking lot 8 inches thick by highway specifications to support the weight of newer vehicles, ”Frost said.
Polish company LK Concrete Construction LLC is managing the first phase of the project.
“They came in high regard,” Frost said. “They were able to give us a hell of a prize… The project is progressing well and they are advancing at a steady pace. We are very happy with what they have done.
The price for the first phase of the project is between $ 48,000 and $ 49,000, according to Frost. The donation from the commissioners will directly pay for the first phase. However, it is the other two phases that preoccupy the leader.
“I don’t know if we can do another phase this year or not. We would really like it because it is in very poor condition. This Commissioners grant has really helped us tremendously, ”said Frost. “The goal is to get another grant. If not, we know we had to, so we budgeted for it. I think we can pass the second phase, no problem.
Frost said he plans to complete phase two with proper budgeting, but blames the COVID-19 pandemic for the possible postponement of phase three.
“Due to COVID-19, our budgets are dispersed due to the overtime due to illnesses and the equipment we had to buy for COVID-19, so I don’t know where our budget is,” Frost said.
To complete the project, Frost said he would look at other grants that would cover the cost of the final phase, but acknowledged that the project had to be completed regardless.
“We can pull off the second phase with the money we saved,” he said. “If we don’t get the grants, we still have to and we’ll have to figure out how we’re going to get there. “
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