The Riley County commission is at odds with the Kansas Department of Transportation over the location of a proposed volunteer fire station in Leonardville.
Thursday morning commissioners issued a written and signed statement urging KDOT to reconsider its decision to refuse a variance for construction of the new facility.
“We’ve gone through lots of hoops, spent extra money trying to redesign this to fit on that lot and we keep getting nixed by KDOT,” Riley County Emergency Management Director and County Fire Chief Pat Collins said. “They don’t want to allow us to have access on Barton Road.”
The fire station is proposed to be built on land donated by Leonardville State Bank, but, according to the commission’s statement, KDOT has traffic concerns.
“(KDOT) wants us to use the alley, which is only 14-feet wide,” Collins said. “And it’s actually one-way traffic coming into the bank — that’s the main entrance into the drive-thru bank facility, so we’d be competing with people driving into bank trying to get our firetrucks out.”
Collins said KDOT’s concerns about traffic hindrance with using Barton Road as an entrance and exit point don’t align with reality.
“We’re not talking about a lot of calls (there),” he said. “We’re talking about nine or 10 calls a year where we’re actually on fire calls, so it’s not a lot of traffic.”
The commission’s full statement can be read below:
