The Woodlands Township board of directors approved a $1.75 million renovation for The Woodlands Fire Station No. 2, located at 9303 Gosling Road, during the board's Oct. 23 meeting. The renovation should begin in the first quarter of 2014, Fire Chief Alan Benson said.

The facility opened in 1985 and is The Woodlands' oldest fire station. The township allocated about $1.3 million in its current budget to fund the station's renovations. In August, the board heard a presentation from Benson regarding potential renovations.

"That station was built back when the fire department was still in the volunteer stages," Benson said. "It wasn't built to handle our new staffing levels, nor was it built to handle up to three additional people from the [Montgomery County] Hospital District."

Benson said the primary goal of the renovation was to expand personnel working and living quarters, as well as provide additional space for a MCHD ambulance and staff.

"Station 2 was identified probably as the most strategic station in The Woodlands to house a medic unit," he said. "It's centrally located and, based on call data, a prime location for a medic unit."

Benson said a MCHD unit and staff have been located at Station No. 2 for some time, but since the fire department has added staff and become a full-time department, has since relocated to Station No. 8 on Gosling Road south of Flintridge Drive.

During the August board meeting, some directors questioned the feasibility of a more than $1 million expenditure for a building that may only last another decade or so. The board directed the fire department to present new plans to the board, including the cost to build a new fire station on the same site.

In October, the fire department contracted with Terracon Consultant, an engineering firm that performed an evaluation of the fire station, its lifespan and the costs to renovate the building, or build a new one.

At the Oct. 23 meeting, Benson provided three options to the board: a $1.3 million renovation plan that was within the township's budget for the station but "falls short in meeting the department's identified functional needs and does not fully address the expansion of the common areas and the facility's exterior front," according to the fire department.

A $1.6 million option presented by Benson included both interior and exterior renovations and addressed the departments stated needs. According to the department, the MCHD would pay for half of either the $1.3 million or $1.6 million option.

Benson also presented an option to completely rebuild the station at a cost of $3.5 million, but said if the board was to prefer that option, that it considers waiting until next budget year to approve it.

The $1.75 million approval included a new roof for the facility, an air conditioning unit and a new emergency generator.