MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The new Central Fire Station, which is being built on the corner of Central Park Drive and Okemos Road, is taking shape as construction workers begin building the north wall.

According to Raymond Severy, Meridian Township Engineer, the external foundation was poured in early June, and the internal foundation was poured shortly after. Once that's finished, residents can expect to see in the next 2-3 weeks the concrete floor in the office part of the building being poured and the rest of the walls going up. Once all four walls are up, the roofing will start.

Due to recent heavy rain, construction plans are two weeks behind schedule. However, project managers are still committed to meeting their December 15th deadline of this year for the Fire Department's move-in date.

"Schedules are based on a 5-day work week, but if we have to make that up, we'll just go to a 6-day work week," said Severy. "They (construction managers) want to stay on schedule, or meet their final schedule."

In 2012, voters approved $3.5 million for the construction of the new fire station. According to Severy, the construction costs alone is about $3.1 million, but other factors including design/re-design costs, lawsuits, and furnishings contributed to the budget.

"It's a bond, so it's (expenses) coming out of a general fund. It'll be paid over, I believe, a 20-year bond. When the voters passed the millage, they agreed to sell bonds for the construction of the fire station, and those bonds have already been sold. So, we have the money, it's just that the contractor does the work and we pay him out of that fund," said Severy.