Silverthorne's new fire station construction timeline puts groundbreaking this fall

Silverthorne north locals rejoyce! Your new fire station has a timeline for it's construction; ground breaking is expected in fall of 2023 (at the latest.)

"We would love to be able to break ground sooner than that," Steve Lipsher, Summit Fire & EMS spokesperson said Tuesday with a twinkle in his eye. "It's the hope of the Chief that we can under promise and over deliver."

CBS News Colorado's Mountain Newsroom reporter Spencer Wilson has conducted extensive coverage on the now officially in-the-works station and the neighbors who are desperate for the EMS to be provided sooner than later at a closer location.  

"The train is rolling down the tracks," Lipsher said. "We will have a fire station, it will be staffed and up and operating at a foreseeable point on the horizon and hopefully that will quash the reasonable worries that people have in Silverthorne north about response times and response capability."

Some residents reportedly are planning to continue their push to ask the town of Silverthorne to chip in funding in the hopes that more money could potentially speed up the timeline for the station to be built. Summit Fire and EMS said not only is that not Silverthorne's responsibility, but it's also not sure how much it could help. 

"I can't imagine it speeding up the timeline, we are going full steam ahead with the plans in place and moving towards that groundbreaking and ultimately construction," Lipsher said. "The answer to the hypothetical question is 'I don't know' what would funding look like, if it ever even happens, and where it would go, how it would be used to offset costs..."

That being said, Silverthorne's town manager referenced an interest in looking into grants potentially available for municipalities that Summit Fire & EMS might not have been able to apply for and helping out that way compared to using budget funds to support the fire station's construction.  Summit Fire & EMS said at the end of the day, it's simply not their job.

"This is a fire station that will be owned and operated by a special district Summit fire & EMS, not the town of Silverthorne," Lipsher explained. "There are many reasons why the town would not just come to us with a check and say, 'here is our share of building a fire station, by the way, we want to be able to use the day room,' or 'if you ever sell this, we need a percentage of our money back.'"

While the fire group is feeling confident they will be able to get things moving on time this year, there are several challenges ahead for the construction process, including possible supply chain issues for building materials, finding the right construction team, finding staffing for the new station, and finding housing for that new set of firefighters and EMTs. 

"We will fight our way through all of those battles," Lipsher said.