ADMIRE — Admire is buzzing with activity these days as construction crews work on a new fire station and a new water tower — both in the same block.
Admire Fire Chief and Mayor Richard Gould said the water tower has been two years in the making. The water tower is a city project, while the fire station is a county project, Gould said. The water tower will be 120 feet high and will hold 55,000 gallons of water. Gould said the water tower will improve the town’s water infrastructure.
Part of the water tower, which used to stand on the Menniger campus in Topeka, was being welded and sanded Wednesday morning.
“There are lots of cool things going on,” Gould said.
Just behind the area where the water tower is being constructed, the fire station is taking shape. A large concrete slab has been poured and steel beams are going up for the walls. The building will cover 6,000 square feet.
“We are really excited about getting it closed in and getting it furnished so we can start using it,” Gould said.
Right now Admire has no central place to store the equipment for the volunteer fire department. The equipment includes a large tanker truck, a pumper truck, first-responder truck and two grass trucks. Lyon County’s emergency preparedness trailer also will be stored in the new building, Gould added.
“(Right now) we have it scattered all over the place,” Gould said.
The fire station not only will provide a home for equipment, it also will serve as an educational space for the community. It will include a kitchen and an area to hold classes. Gould said the building will allow the fire department to offer CPR classes, first-responder classes and other activities.
“Right now we’re really limited to what we can do,” he said.
The water tower and fire station are big projects for the town, but they are not likely to be the last. Gould said Admire’s Community Pride Committee is taking a look at the town as a whole.
“We have a lot of new people involved in city government,” he said.
Gould said the committee is looking at everything from improving the town’s tennis courts to decorating the downtown area. The town will be making its own Christmas decorations for the downtown area. Gould said this came about after the town acquired some surplus decorations from Emporia.
“That got people fired up,” he said.
A neighborhood watch is being reactivated.
“We are wanting to do things to promote the town,” Gould said. “People are just really buzzing around town.”