By Jolene FarleyA new fire hall, city shop and city offices will soon be a reality for Beaver Creek residents. The old fire hall and Beaver Creek Township offices were demolished Thursday to make way for a new 130-by-200-foot, two-tone steel building on the same site. The Beaver Creek City Council hasn’t decided what colors the building will be yet, according to city employee Lloyd DeBoer.The total project, which has been in the works for three or four years, is expected to cost around $280,000. DeBoer said money was the main reason the project wasn’t started sooner. The city was in the middle of the golf course and other projects, he said."We finally got ‘er going. It took a little bit, but we’re going," DeBoer said. Hoppe Construction, Sioux Center, Iowa, is general contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of October.The new structure will extend within about four feet of the Beaver Creek Post Office building.The new fire hall will have 14-by-14-foot overhead doors. "It’s (the fire hall) going to have a fill valve for water and it’s going to have bigger doors," said DeBoer. DeBoer said it was sometimes difficult backing equipment into the narrow doors on the old buildings.The new city offices will have a meeting area for the city council and fire department. The city shop will have 12-by-14-foot doors. The current city offices are rented from Beaver Creek Township. The township plans to use the vacated space for its offices. Beaver Creek Fire Department volunteers stripped the buildings before the demolition. Some items were salvaged for installation in the new building such as overhead heaters, gear hangers and a blackboard.Items that officials didn’t expect to reuse were auctioned off or taken to the landfill.DeBoer said residents shouldn’t worry about fire protection during the construction phase. The fire department is "still ready to roll" when needed, even though equipment is housed in different buildings around town.
