Public Hearing Tonight on Proposed New Fire Station in U City

The City Council will hold a public hearing this evening on a proposed new fire station to be built at 6601 Vernon Avenue in University City.

The public hearing will occurr after the citizen participation portion of tonight's City Council meeting. The City Council meeting is at 6:30pm on the 5th floor of .

Three times since September councilmembers have postponed voting on approving funding for the new firehouse. No official public notification had gone out to residents living near the firehouse site about what was possibly coming to their neighborhood. A situation that didn't sit well with several of the councilmembers who said they hoped to get more public input, especially from residents near the proposed firehouse site.

At tonight's public hearing, the council is expected discuss hiring an independent project manager to oversee the construction and hiring of minorities.

A vote on the firehouse funding resolution will be held at the Nov. 14 city council meeting.

The fire department is asking the city to make up a funding shortfall of $674,494. The money is in addition to $200,000 the council already approved for a grant match for the new firehouse.

Earlier, this month councilmembers held a study session where they discussed the pros and cons of a new firehouse. At that meeting, University City provided some answers to concerns raised by citizens about the new firehouse.