Canton Township's decades-long growth spurt has created a need for a fourth fire station, Director of Fire Services Christopher Stoecklein told the township's board of trustees during an April 20 study session.

Just weeks after the unveiling of the township's newly-renovated Fire Station No. 2 on Warren Road, Stoecklein presented a detailed proposal that he hopes will convince decision-makers that a new station is necessary in the southeast corner of Canton.

In addition to the Warren Road station, the township utilizes stations at 1100 S. Canton Center Road, next door to township hall; and at 520 N. Denton Road, near the western edge of the township.

"Now that station 2 is complete, the next step in our strategic plan for the township is to start moving forward and giving you the recommendations our data is driving us toward," Stoecklein told the trustees. 

Headlining the proposal was a graphic that showed the number of calls for emergency assistance in the township has increased 42% annually since 2010.

Canton Township's population is about 94,000, according to U.S. Census data.

Based on a mountain of data collected during the past several years, Stoecklein told the board of trustees that the ideal location for a new station would be two parallel eight-acre parcels of township-owned land near the southwest corner of the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Lilley Road.

A map Stoecklein shared showed that close to 25% of his department's calls come from the southeastern quadrant of the township, which he said produces higher-than-acceptable response times due to the lengthy proximity of the closest station.

"One thing that makes this location ideal is that it is close to the Michigan Avenue and I-275 corridors, which are two of our busiest areas when it comes to heavy rescues, and it is on the section of Lilley Road that dead-ends into the landfill," Stoecklein said. "Since it's already township-owned property, it would give us the advantage of probably saving a lot of money, although some general transfer procedures would have to take place."

Building a new facility and adding the necessary personnel would equate to an approximate 0.6 millage increase, which would cost the owner of a $300,000 home an an additional $90 more each year, Canton Township Assistant Treasurer Bruce Malinczak said. 

Malinczak said that same Canton homeowner paid about $560 in fire-related taxes in 2019 and 2020.

Stoecklein said Canton can increase the taxes without a public vote using a special assessments district across the township. Malinczak said special assessment districts can increase fire and police-related millage rates up to 10-mill increases without being required to put the increase before a vote of residents.

Stoecklein said if the design for the new station duplicated the one used for the recent renovation of station No. 2, the township would save on architectural design costs. 

The board of trustees agreed to discuss the proposal and address the need for a new station at a future board meeting.

Contact reporter Ed Wright at eawright@hometownlife.com or 517-375-1113.