Glenmont Fire Station Is High Priority for County Council

With state-funded plans for a new grade-separated interchange at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road already underway, relocating Fire Station 18, which currently sits at that intersection, is a high priority for the Montgomery County Council.

Councilmember Phil Andrews told Patch that the council wants the new station to be ready by the time the old one must go, so that there is no interruption in service to the community.

Andrews is the chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, which met Feb. 16 to discuss the Glenmont fire station and others in the CIP budget.

Ernest Lunsford, of the Department of General Services, told the committee that the county still needs to acquire the property from WMATA for the new location near the Glenmont Metro station, next to the parking garage on Georgia Avenue. But this process seems to be nearing completion. “It should come to a close in just a few weeks,” Lunsford said.

County Executive Isiah Leggett has recommended $10.7 million for replacing the station. According to notes in these CIP recommendations, construction would take place over 16 months, finishing in spring 2014. The county anticipates completion of the design phase this spring.

The Public Safety Committee also discussed the Wheaton Rescue Squad relocation from Grandview Avenue to the corner of Georgia Avenue and Arcola Avenue, right across Arcola from the Wheaton Library. The recommended $4.2 million in Leggett’s CIP would cover only half the costs, as the rescue squad is providing the other half.

The Wheaton Rescue Squad and the county will be joint owners of the completed station and the land, according to notes in the CIP recommendations.