But the city's burgeoning west side could get an expanded firehouse and its own police precinct in its place.
Last week, Fire Chief Brad Wardle locked up Station 54 at 9351 S. 5595 West after a private consultant reported that the mold found during a bathroom renovation is hazardous. It would cost $56,000 to $70,000 to remove the mold and replace the leaky roof, he said.
But the City Council is considering spending more than $1 million - based on initial, rough estimates - to ditch the 30-year-old building for a bigger, state-of-the-art fire station and police precinct. This week, the council directed Wardle to bring a formal cost estimate so that construction could get going "immediately."
Wardle expects a new station, with beds for seven firefighters instead of four and a police precinct, could open in about a year. It would be able to meet the growing service demands in Utah's fourth-largest city - which is expected to add another 60,000 people in the next 30 years.
"Assuming that our city limits stay the same, this will be the last fire station we have to build," said City Manager Gary Luebbers.
For now, firefighters from Station 54, which averaged one emergency call a day, have moved to the fire department's headquarters at 7602 S. Jordan Landing Blvd. (about 3800 West).
West Jordan Police Department currently has no major offices besides its headquarters at 8040 S. Redwood Road (1700 West). A west-side precinct would help the city "decentralize" as the population growth continues farther west, Luebbers said.
The new building would be funded through public-safety impact fees that have been collected for new police and fire facilities. Currently, the fund has about $800,000 in it, but it continues to grow, Luebbers explained, and the city could cover any gap by borrowing from other reserves.
The council - staring at a prospective property-tax hike to balance next fiscal year's budget - will wait to make a final decision on the station until it receives a report on how much the project would cost and how much money is available.
