After nearly two decades of discussion, Silverthorne is getting closer to having its own fire station now that Silverthorne Town Council has given the green light for a final site plan. While Summit Fire & EMS previously gave an estimate that the project would break ground in the fall, council was told now a groundbreaking celebration could happen as soon as mid-April.

The station, which is on the east side of Blue River Parkway across the street from the Raven Golf Course, will be the fifth Summit Fire & EMS station and the only single-floor fire station in Summit County.

Council approved a final site plan and a replat for the station at its March 13 meeting after being presented plans by Silverthorne’s contracted town planner, TJ Dlubac, and hearing from Fire Chief Travis Davis.

Davis applauded town staff for their collaboration in this process and said it moved much quicker than he had anticipated. He told council they plan to hire six people in July to man the station. Summit Fire & EMS community resource officer Steve Lipsher said the intention is to start staffing the station the minute construction is done. 

Summit Fire & EMS said it will hopefully have a groundbreaking ceremony sometime in mid-April, depending on weather. 

“Come to the grand opening and the groundbreaking, and those that live on that side of town, get ready for sirens,” Davis said to council.

Dlubac told council there have not been any major changes since they approved a preliminary site plan back in September. He explained the reasoning behind the replat is to establish two easements that weren’t previously there. 

The easements include an exclusive water easement for a fire hydrant and an easement for a multiuse recreational trail for the pedestrian pathway that runs along the east and north sides of the property. Although the trail has existed for a number of years, the staff memo states that no easement was ever officially recorded because it wasn’t anticipated that the plot of land would be for a fire station. 

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Dlubac said one of the major changes to the plan was the relocation of an Xcel transformer that shifted around landscaping and other components. The transformer was moved to the northeast corner of the building due to concern over the previous location and its proximity to a Colorado Department of Transportation right-of-way.

It was previously discussed that there should be some sort of traffic light or emergency light on Colorado Highway 9 to ensure that trucks can dispatch efficiently. Dlubac informed the council that there are no updates on this front and that it is still being talked through.

“I think, at a minimum, because of the number of resources coming out of that station, the first step is going to be that emergency light and the one that flashes,” Fire Chief Travis Davis told council, explaining that there definitely would be some sort of light.

Other changes include an increase on the price estimate, which at first was approximately $6 and $8 million and now is closer to $9 to $9.5 million.