The training grounds would be located at the Jerry R. Galler Public Safety Training Center, which is at 701 E. Valley Ridge Blvd.
The municipalities are finalizing details of the agreement and hope to start construction this fall, according to Lewisville Fire Chief Mark McNeal. McNeal said he hopes to have the facility ready for use by the fall of 2022.
"This is an exciting project because the joint funding will allow us to build a great facility that will benefit all three cities for years to come," McNeal said.
The total cost for design and construction of the training grounds is expected to be $4,691,250. This cost will be split among the three cities with Highland Village paying $386,591; Flower Mound paying $2,013,494; and Lewisville paying $2,561,165. The costs as well as operations and usage time, McNeal said, are based on each city's number of firefighters as a percentage of the total number of firefighters for the combined cities.
“This approach has been successfully modeled between area cities and is the best use of taxpayer funds as the capital and operating costs are shared,” Highland Village Fire Chief Mike Thomson said.
McNeal said that this collaboration will enhance training strategies and further improve coordination among firefighters from the three cities.
