3 NEW FIRE STATIONS SET FOR PALMDALE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Palmdale and Los Angeles County are trying to expedite the construction of three new fire stations and a replacement for a station the city anticipates acquiring as part of its downtown revitalization.

Palmdale will provide land for three of the stations and spend $800,000 to put in land improvements, such as curbs and gutters, for all four stations. The goal is to have all four stations in place within three years.

``The commitment is there from the city to move forward,'' said Mayor Jim Ledford.

The new stations will be Station 93, at 55th Street East and Avenue R; Station 136, at Bolz Ranch Road and Town Center Drive; and Station 139, in the area of 47th Street East and Pearblossom Highway.

The plan also calls for the construction of a new Station 37 at Avenue Q, east of Sierra Highway, to replace the existing downtown station.

Palmdale officials plan to acquire the existing Station 37, 38318 Ninth Street East, as part of an effort to revitalize the portion of downtown between the Civic Center and Courson Park. One possible city use of the old fire station is to house a local history museum.

City officials said the idea for the museum was spurred by the donation of historical maps, books, photographs and documents by the late Fred Strasburg, who grew up in Palmdale and was principal at Tumbleweed School.

The museum could hold the Strasburg collection as well as historic documents and artifacts donated by other Antelope Valley families.

Los Angeles County will be responsible for the design and construction of all four stations. The county will also be responsible for buying the land for Station 139.

The Fire Department has not yet determined how it will finance the construction of the stations, but one possibility is to issue bonds and pay them back with developer fees imposed on new construction by the city in 1999 for fire services.

The Fire Department is looking at using a modular building at the 55th Street East and Avenue R site as an interim fire station while design work is done on a permanent station.

``A modular building allows us to get resources in place quickly while we work on a permanent site,'' said Daryl Osby, assistant fire chief of the planning and community services division.

The Fire Department has planned to build these stations for a number of years in response to the city's rapid growth. However, in the mid-1990s that population growth slowed down.

Now, growth is beginning to pick up again, Osby said.

In June 1999, the city of Palmdale enacted a developer fee of $194 per home to help fund new stations.