Department to expand, meet city growth

A planned fire station on Red Bud Lane is intended to improve response times to a wider swath of Round Rock's southeast side. Fire officials said they hope for a March 2016 completion date.

Shane Glaiser, Round Rock Fire Department battalion chief, said the land, located at 1612 Red Bud Lane, is within 400 feet of the department's ideal location for the new station to have the maximum effect on response times.

"Land for sale on Red Bud is few and far between," Glaiser said. "We had to find the right people who wanted to sell, not use imminent domain and pay a fair market value."

City Manager Steve Norwood said the city has been looking at bolstering fire services in the area for more than three years.

"Looking at the density of homes in that area and looking at [their] value, it's critical we get there in a timely manner," Norwood said. "We can get there, but it's not at the times that citizens expect."

Kenny Key, who has lived in the Forest Creek community off Red Bud Lane for 15 years, said he has been satisfied with city services in the area, including the fire department, but is happy a new station is coming.

"Hopefully it'll take a little stress off [the firefighters]," Key said.

Currently Station No. 4 on Gattis School Road serves the area. When the Red Bud Lane location is complete it will be the first of four new stations across the city that were approved by voters in last November's bond election. Two of the new stations will be on the city's south side. Those two will replace fire station No. 4. Two existing stations will also be renovated, Glaiser said.

"[With fire departments] it's a numbers game," Norwood said.

The timeline for building the four new stations and renovating the two existing ones will extend past 2018.

Norwood said after the four new stations are built they should serve the city for another 10 years.

"After that, it's anyone's guess," he said.