COUNTY BOARD TO APPROVE BUILDING PURCHASE FOR EMS RELOCATION
February 20, 2020
Lauren Kuhl, County Board Office, 608.283.1433
County Board
At their meeting tonight , the County Board is scheduled to approve the purchase of the former City of Fitchburg fire station on King James Way to house Dane County’s emergency operations center, department offices, and equipment currently being stored in an additional facility.
Dane County’s emergency operations center is currently in the Public Safety Building, and will need to be relocated as the building is remodeled as part of the jail consolidation project. The Fitchburg property is being purchased for $1.8 million, and will allow the owner to retain .77 acres of the northern portion of the property for development.
“This purchase will allow Dane County’s Emergency Management department to consolidate into one space putting all of the necessary equipment in arms reach,” said County Board Chair Analiese Eicher (District 3).
Also at Thursday’s meeting the Board will accept a $10,000 Evjue Foundation grant for the Jail Literacy Link Project. The grant funding will provide for the purchase of book vending machines for Public Safety Building Visitation, City-County Building Visitation, and the Public Safety Building lobby.
The Literacy Link Project was created to distribute high quality children’s books in the jail lobby and visitation areas to create a positive visitation experience for children visiting jailed parents.
“Having a parent or loved one in the criminal justice system is extremely challenging ,” said Supervisor Maureen McCarville (District 22). “Having a program to provide books for children while they are visiting parents gives them the opportunity to share books with their parent and encourages lifelong reading.”
Additional funding from the Literacy Link, the Madison Reading Project, and Dane County Library Service will provide an ongoing supply of books, bookshelves, parent community resources, and toys to help children feel more comfortable visiting the jail environment.
The County Board meeting will take place at 7:00pm in room 201 of the City-County Building, 210 MLK Jr. Blvd. Madison. The agenda can be found here: https://dane.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=734205&GUID=9F2AA8EA-D8EE-41A9-9F2A-65A750D05D08