MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - At the Feb. 4 Township Board meeting, Manager Frank Walsh and his staff were directed to meet with the Autumn Park Condominium Association to see if there was a way to facilitate some kind of compromise, but still maintain the new Central Fire Station's location on Okemos Road and Central Park Drive.

Manager Walsh said, since then, they have taken a serious look in trying to make this project fit into the neighborhood.

Township officials have met with the neighborhood representatives and now revised the plan to no longer have the training tower.

They have also reduced the number of bays from five to four to reduce the size of the building's foot print.

Manger Walsh said, "I would describe the meeting as productive and cordial. That doesn't mean that the Autumn Park Neighborhood has rubber stamped this project, nor do we need anyone to rubber stamp this project. The voters approved this site on an overwhelming margin and we are going to move forward with the fire station at this location."

Doctor David Srobl, Father of a condominium owner, said, "We are sitting down to see if there is a way we could have a win-win. And we are open to visit with them and, hopefully, continue to compromise on some of the situations to preserve the quality of life for the township owners and also property values."

The compromise also consists of moving the station over with the entrance and exit off Okemos Road instead of Central Park Drive.

However, Doctor Strobl said the main concern for the condo association is, of course, the noise levels and although there is talk of moving the entrance, it's only about 150 to 200 feet from the doors of the condos.

Township and condominium owners will continue to meet to make the process of building a new fire station run more smoothly.

The Special Use Permit and Commission Review for the construction of a new fire station will be before the Township Board as action items at the March 4th meeting.

Until the new fire station moves forward, the Township is still working on a temporary fire station. The Building and Public Works Departments have received bids on the cost for the temporary location at the Meridian Service Center estimating between $24,000-$34,000. Construction should be underway and complete within 30 to 45 days.