HUBBARD — One official said city council will have a meeting to discuss its options regarding the fire department after hearing from the Eagle Joint Fire District’s trustee representative.

Hubbard Trustee Jason Tedrow said during Monday’s city council meeting that the fire district had a special meeting last week to discuss the fire department’s status, as well as the properties officials were considering for a new fire station. Tedrow said fire district officials are eyeing two locations — two half-acre lots in the city and three to five acres in the township near Love’s Travel Stop.

“I know there’s been a lot of interest in potentially keeping it in the city and seeing what we can do, and it’s something we wanted to evaluate,” Tedrow said. “We wanted to approach city council to discuss not giving us the property, but potentially entering into an agreement where you would be willing to.”

Tedrow said such an agreement would allow EJFD officials to look at the pros and cons of each property, adding that they wanted to do something thorough with respect to the fire department’s entire jurisdiction, as well as keep in mind the next 25 to 50 years.

“Nobody has to provide any property at this point. We just want to know what our options are,” said Tedrow, later adding that there was no point in doing a ton of research if it’s not even a possibility.

Tedrow said a secondary location that houses an ambulance has been suggested, but the fire board is looking at what is best to serve the entire community.

Tedrow said the railroad tracks, which have been brought up as points of contention against the township location, haven’t been cited in past years as a problem with providing service to everyone.

Tedrow said the fire board is just looking for a letter of support stating the city would be willing to donate the property if the fire district ends up going in that direction.

“The fire department doesn’t want to sit on a bunch of property — that’s not what we’re here for. I know it’s been brought up about buying the church next door. That could be $150,000,” Tedrow said. “I don’t want to cost taxpayer money, I know (fire) Chief (Ron Stanish) absolutely doesn’t. There’s no point in sinking money into something that’s going to be more of a taxpayer drain.”

Councilman Jerry Crowe, D-at Large, said seeing some dollar figures would help, regardless of the property, but Tedrow questioned why they would put in the effort to obtain them if the property isn’t available.

Tedrow said the cost of the future building would ultimately depend on the lot, which is approximately $15,000 for one and $20,000 for the other.

Councilwoman Bonnie Viele, D-1st Ward, questioned what the township would bring to the table for the property, noting the city is contributing its asset.

“The fire district doesn’t have anything that they’ve asked the township for at this point,” Tedrow said. “This is because there’s been a lot of talk about keeping (the building) in the city and trying to find the best plausible way to be able to do that. That’s how we put forth the request.”

Tedrow said the fire board will explore the options they have in front of them in case the city rejects their proposal.