POLAND — The Western Reserve Joint Fire District board of directors met Thursday to move onto the next step of adding living quarters onto Station 92, 7619 Youngstown-Pittsburgh Road.

Assistant Chief John Walsh presented findings from a committee that worked on the addition and gave an estimated cost.

“We are well above the $5 million mark,” he told board members. “Originally we made a blind guess at $2.5 million.”

He said the estimated $5.4 million is based on estimates from construction costs in the Cleveland area.

“We don’t have fat to trim from the proposed project,” Walsh said.

Assistant Chief Jim Stewart said the addition would include eight bedrooms, three bathrooms and a kitchen / dining area.

Included in the estimated cost was a metal roof, which Walsh said would be worth it.

“It would cost about a quarter million dollars for a shingle roof that will last 25 years,” he said. “It will cost $400,000 for a steel roof that will last 60 years.”

He said in the long run, the metal would be cheaper.

Walsh said he got a proposal from one bank for a 20-year loan. In looking at the district’s finances, Fiscal Officer Joe Sfara said $1 million could be put down on the project and the remainder could be financed.

Fire Chief David “Chip” Comstock said there are more banks out there and it could become competitive. Right now, the district has two outstanding loans that include the Station 93 construction note with payments of $137,646 annually, which will be paid off in 2028. A second loan with an annual payment of $159,057 was for Engine 94, a Sutphen pumper truck, which will be paid off in 2029.

Sfara felt the district should be able to handle the loan for the addition.

Walsh said the district used to have a response time of 12 to 13 minutes as people were coming from home to the station, then leaving. He said when the district staffed Station 92, the response time was reduced to five minutes.

Board member Ed Kempers asked how the response time would be affected if the addition was built, and the reply was not by much.

Comstock said the issue is retention. Right now, the ambulance crews are using Murphy beds that fold into the wall so meetings can be held in the same room. He said retention of personnel is the important issue.

“We need to attract people who will say, this is the place where I want to live for 24 hours,” he told the board. “Wages and quarters are important for retention.”

After a short discussion, the board decided to move forward and the next step would be seeking bids to give a definite figure on the addition’s cost.

Walsh, Kempers, Mike Thompson, Paul Williams and Becky Rudzik all said yes to seeking bids. Based on the outcome, the board will decide where to go from that point.

“The cost of construction never comes down,” Comstock said.