Findlay firefighters plan to build a new station to replace their 85-year-old headquarters.

The township is paying engineers up to $30,000 to design a fire station that the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department wants to build on Pine Street, near the Findlay Activity Center in the Imperial village district.

Fire Chief Bobby Bradburn Jr. said once a new station is built, the department likely will sell the old facility at 115 Main St. in Imperial.

"There have been a lot of improvements over the years, but now we've outgrown it," Chief Bradburn said. "I think 85 years in one station is about enough. It's time for a new one."

Michael Baker Corp. engineers have drafted a conceptual layout that includes a 10,400-square-foot fire station on a 1.5-acre lot.

Other engineering work will address lighting, buffers, storm water, zoning and similar issues, township engineering representative Daniel Kauffman said.

Grading and land preparation work could go out for bid by spring, he said.

About a dozen years ago, Findlay acquired the Pine Street property, tore down a dilapidated former high school there and donated the lot to the fire department, which already was envisioning a new station, township Manager Gary Klingman said.

"The existing building is fairly old, and they have a whole second floor which is inaccessible because it doesn't meet the [Americans with Disabilities Act] requirements," Mr. Klingman said. "What they're looking to do is modernize."

A new station would be more energy efficient, have a better building layout and provide more office space and more convenient parking, he said.

While the township will pay for engineering work under its contract with Baker, the fire department will be responsible for funding construction.

Chief Bradburn said ongoing fundraisers have helped generate some money, but the department is not going to be able to pay for the entire project through fundraising alone.

The construction cost and building timeline are not yet determined, he said.

"It's early in the process, and any support we get from the township and residents of our township is very much appreciated," Chief Bradburn said.

The Imperial Volunteer Fire Department, established in 1924, serves Findlay and provides mutual aid to North Fayette and Pittsburgh International Airport.

About 45 volunteers operate four engines, one rescue truck, two brush trucks, a squad truck and a chief's car, according to the department's website.

The main station is the Imperial facility. Substations are on Matchette Road in Clinton and Aten Road in Westbury.

Findlay supervisors voted Aug. 11 to approve a $125,000 loan and earmarked $30,000 of it for the fire station design. The balance of the township's five-year PNC Bank loan will go toward municipal building awning repairs and storm water drainage improvements related to thunderstorms that caused damage and flooding this summer.

About $10,000 will pay to replace the Route 30 municipal building's 7-year-old canvas awnings, which were damaged during a June hail storm, Mr. Klingman said. Insurance will reimburse the township 80 percent of that cost. The awnings are outside the police and administration entrances.

The remainder of the money will improve storm water drainage systems and repair damage on Camp Meeting Road, on Hookstown Grade Road, in Imperial near Valley Presbyterian Church, and along Old Ridge Road in the Westbury neighborhood, Mr. Klingman said.

Damage and flooding that resulted from heavy rains in June brought to light pipe, catch basin and other drainage deficiencies, and engineers found a legitimate need for improvements, he said.

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