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

Douglas County commissioners gave their preliminary approval Wednesday to a cost-sharing agreement with the city of Lawrence for an interior rebuild of a downtown fire station.

The 1950s era building at 746 Kentucky Street was built as a fire and police station. It is now home to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical’s Fire Station No. 1 and Douglas County Senior Services.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical Chief Mark Bradford and Douglas County Senior Services Executive Director Marvel Williamson said the project will require completely gutting and rebuilding the interior of both sides of the building. The work would require the fire station and Senior Services to relocate for eight months to a year.

Williamson said the Senior Services side of the building would need work from top to bottom, and that hazardous waste issues such as asbestos, mercury and lead contamination would need to be dealt with.

The total cost of the work is estimated at $6.4 million. The County Commission was presented with an agreement county and city administrative staffs developed on how the two local governments would share that expense. County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the agreement would have the county pay 25.64 percent ($978,185) for the work on the fire station section of the building and 32 percent ($806,000) for the Senior Services section.

Commissioners supported the project and the cost-sharing agreement. They did, however, have reservations about Senior Services temporarily relocating into the county’s old public works building at 1242 Massachusetts St. during the project. They noted the county provided minimal funding for the building late in its use by public works because it is slated to be razed.

Weinaug said the building was “functional” if less than desirable. The city would pay to make the site useable, which mostly would involve an intensive cleaning, he said. The building’s most concerning issue, he said, was the condition of its heating and air conditioning systems, which could require $20,000 to $30,000 in repairs if they failed.

Fearing a possible repair bill at a building slated for demolition, commissioners instructed Weinaug to explore other site options with city staff.

The proposed cost-sharing agreement will be on the Lawrence City Commission’s Tuesday agenda. Should the city agree to the cost-sharing proposal, and once questions of Senior Services’ temporary relocation are resolved, a formal agreement will be presented to both governing bodies.

Commissioners also unanimously approved a conditional use permit for Verizon Wireless to build a 199-foot tower at 1287 East 1200 Road on property owned by Wesleyan Church Inc. The property is just south of where 31st Street turns into Kasold Drive in southwest Lawrence.