Highland Village approves agreement to fund joint fire training facility with Lewisville, Flower Mound

Highland Village City Council voted unanimously Oct. 12 to approve an interlocal cooperative agreement with the town of Flower Mound and city of Lewisville for a joint fire training facility.

Plans for the joint facility began back in 2019, when the city of Lewisville Fire Department determined its fire training facility could no longer safely be used for live fire training.

Highland Village Fire Department currently must rent facilities to do fire training, which has led to “limited availability to train in real-life scenarios,” according to a memo from Fire Chief Michael Thomson.

The agreement states that the facility would be owned solely by the city of Lewisville, but it would grant the Flower Mound and Highland Village fire departments the right to use it. The facility would be built at the Jerry R. Galler Public Safety Training Center, which is at 701 E. Valley Ridge Blvd. in Lewisville.

According to the council briefing, the 20-year agreement begins once construction is completed and accepted. The agreement includes automatic one-year renewals unless cities provide notice of non-renewal.

The total cost of the facility is more than $4.9 million. The city of Highland Village would be responsible for 7.9% of the initial capital cost, which equates to $386,591, and 7.9% of the operating costs.

Thomson told City Council members that even if Lewisville were to terminate the agreement after 20 years, Highland Village would still benefit financially from the deal. His department will also have better prepared firefighters with the new facility, he said.

Thomson said he anticipates the facility will be ready about 18 months after construction begins.

Flower Mound Town Council is set to vote on the resolution at its Oct. 18 council meeting.