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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jackson County Mental Health will begin White City appointments ... No charges will be filed in double-fatal crash on Interstate 5 ... Free well water testing for nitrate contamination offered in Central Point ... Jackson County Mental Health will begin White City appointments ... No charges will be filed in double-fatal crash on Interstate 5 ... Free well water testing for nitrate contamination offered in Central Point ... PUBLIC SAFETY New Highland Drive fire station cut After costs outstrip budget, council decides to build two fires stations instead of three Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 1, 2015 at 5:37 PM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 1, 2015 at 5:37 PM » Social News A proposal to rebuild Fire Station 3 at the corner of Highland Drive and Siskiyou Boulevard was chopped Thursday by Medford City Council because the city ran out of money. “The reality is we’re not going to get Station 3,” Mayor Gary Wheeler said. The city had $32 million in bonds, paid through higher utility fees, to build a new police headquarters and three new fire stations. But all the projects were more expensive than anticipated. Even after the shortfall on the police station was pared in half to $800,000, the city was still in the hole. Fire Chief Brian Fish said his priority is to replace Fire Station 2, at the corner of Lincoln and Eighth streets, because it is the oldest station with some of the highest call volumes. His second preference would be Fire Station 4 on Table Rock Road, which is used also as a training facility. The council appeared to have no appetite to look for other sources of revenue to make up the shortfall. “Any time we run short of money, we find it somewhere,” Councilor Dick Gordon said. Councilors held out some hope that $800,000 in contingencies for the police station would not be spent and could be used in the future to help fund Fire Station 3. The city, along with contractor Adroit Construction Co. of Ashland and Ogden Roemer Wilkinson Architecture, have been trying to pare back an initial $6 million shortfall on the police and fire stations. After a series of reductions were proposed, including a redesign of the fire stations, the council wondered if it was cutting too far. “At this point, we’re going to nickel and dime this thing, and we’re still not there,” Councilor Kevin Stine said. Councilor Chris Gordon said he worried about using asphalt instead of concrete in the driveway area where fire engines park. The council agreed to continue with the redesign of all three fire stations but resolved to build only two of them in hopes that enough might be left over to complete the third in the future. The council criticized itself for spending too much during the last budget cycle, complaining that labor costs were the big-ticket item, and not having enough left over to deal with the fire station overrun. “It was a spending spree,” Councilor Chris Corcoran said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm . By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 1, 2015 at 5:37 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501