Douglas County Senior Services to be displaced by fire station remodel

photo by: Mike Yoder

Located at 746 Kentucky, Fire Station No. 1 was constructed in 1950.

The upcoming remodel of a downtown Lawrence fire station will take away space from Douglas County Senior Services, which has been housed in the building for more than 30 years, its director said.

The area that DCSS now uses for large gatherings will be turned into sleeping quarters for Fire Station No. 1. Because of the displacement, the city will soon determine whether to rehabilitate what’s left of DCSS space to serve its needs or to relocate the agency to another spot in Lawrence.

“We did not know that we would be losing some of our space,” said DCSS Executive Director Marvel Williamson. “We knew it was a possibility, but it wasn’t until just recently that word came down that it was going to have to happen that way. We understand; our firefighters need the accommodations, and we don’t begrudge them that. Now, we also need to figure out what we’re going to do.”

Fire Station No. 1, at 746 Kentucky St., is a midcentury-modern-style structure built in 1950 as the city’s public safety building. Now, it’s one of the city’s busiest stations and in need of “significant renovation” to be ADA compliant. DCSS offices and gathering space are in the eastern portion of the building.

The meeting room DCSS is losing in the renovation was where volunteers would help seniors prepare their income taxes or get enrolled in Medicare. It’s also filled on a weekly basis by groups using the space for events.

“We’ll certainly miss it, so we need to come up with an alternative,” Williamson said.

A cooperation agreement between DCSS, the city and county requires Douglas County to allocate funding to the agency and the city to provide a facility for it.

As requested by City Manager Tom Markus, Williamson is analyzing how the smaller space could be rehabilitated to suit the needs of DCSS and at what cost. She’s also looking at other commercial properties to rent in Lawrence, she said.

A list of possibilities will soon be presented to Markus, Williamson said, and the city will decide whether to move DCSS.

At a budget work session Tuesday, Markus told city commissioners he was leaning toward keeping DCSS in the same space, but renovating it.

“From my perspective, I’d just as soon keep them in the station and have the whole station rehabbed at the same time,” Markus said. “Rather than getting into a lease arrangement and having dead space there, I’d like to see it utilized effectively. I think the space will work, but clearly it needs to be rehabbed to suit the services.”

Williamson said she hasn’t decided which option she would prefer. She’s a new director — she started with DCSS in April — so relocating to a new space could be well-timed with other changes she’s hoping to make at the agency, she said.

“It’s never fun to move, or live in a space when a building is being remodeled,” Williamson said. “We’re embarking on some significant strategic planning that will change the face and future of senior services here, and that kind of rebranding, along with a new location, could help with that message and our new future. I see advantages both ways.”

The cost of the fire station’s renovation is included in the most recent draft of the five-year capital improvement plan introduced to the City Commission on Tuesday. Actual construction costs are estimated at $2.63 million and a total $6 million would be set aside for it in 2017 under the draft plan. Douglas County is responsible for 25 percent of the actual construction cost, or $657,700.

In February, the City Commission authorized an agreement with Zimmerschied Architects, PLLC for architecture and engineering of the renovation, including conducting an updated building condition report.

A survey of the building in 2010 resulted in a proposal that it be restored. The proposal has sat on the capital improvement list since then, and it’s currently listed as having “critical” priority.