The existing firehouse at 217 W. New York Avenue in Gunnison, Colorado was constructed in 1974 and is no longer adequate to meet the health, safety, and operational needs of the volunteer firefighters that serve an area of approximately 2,700 square miles.  In recognition of these challenges, the City of Gunnison and the Gunnison County Fire Protection District (GCFPD) recently executed two Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)’s with the following purposes:

1.   City of Gunnison formally contracted fire protection services to the Gunnison County Fire Protection District; and

2.   Replace Fire Station with specifics on shared objectives, roles, and responsibilities.

In 2024, the City and GCFPD secured a Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant to conduct a comprehensive Needs and Feasibility Assessment.  Completed in June 2025 by Neenan Archistruction, the assessment considered:

• Do nothing.
• Act now to pursue building a functional, safe, and durable firehouse that can be used to serve the community for many years.
• Delay action and reassess the firehouse situation in the future.

Ultimately, the third-party assessment validated critical deficiencies and outlines three conceptual options for a new facility, each with associated costs, timelines, and site implications.  On June 24, 2025, City Council and the GCFPD Board participated in a joint work session to discuss the results of the assessment.  Subsequently, the entities unanimously acted as follows:

Approved the Fire Station, Needs & Feasibility Assessment, electing to replace the firehouse and its existing location (Option 2) based upon the programming and cost estimates, as presented, and accepted the split facility (Option 3) as the secondary preference.  Directed staff to proceed with exploring funding mechanisms for City Council’s discussion and to proceed with requesting Gunnison County transfer ownership of land to the City and GCFPD to accommodate the new facility.  

The basis of these decisions considered the acquisition uncertainty and potential long-term economic impact of Option 1 (Dollar Store site), and the costliness of Option 3 (split operations across New York Avenue).  Additionally, the governing bodies recognized the need to pursue funding mechanism(s) in 2025 to address the significant health and safety risks of continuing operations at the existing facility.  Lastly, the entities considered their confidence in the cost estimates and “shovel-ready” nature of project provided the executed and active design-build contract with Neenan Archistruction.

 The complete report, including concept drawings, program details, and cost estimates, is viewable by clicking the link at the top right of this page.