EAGLE, Idaho — A proposed fire training and public works facility near the Eagle Bike Park is sparking debate — and after neighbors reached out to Idaho News 6 with their concerns, the city and community members are sharing their perspectives on what the project could mean for open space, trails and public safety in the area.
The proposed plans would bring a joint maintenance and training facility to a parcel of just over seven acres near Horseshoe Bend Road and Floating Feather Road. The first phase of the project would develop approximately three acres of that land.
Plans include a large shop space split between the fire district and the city, a burn tower for firefighter training, parking for city vehicles and equipment, office space and outdoor training areas.
WATCH | Hear neighbors' concerns on the proposed facility—
Eagle Public Works Director Eric Ziegenfuss said the project has been a long time coming.
"This conversation started 10 years ago," Ziegenfuss said.
He said the city began saving for the project about seven years ago, and that the Eagle Fire District eventually joined as a partner when it became clear both entities needed more space. He said the facility would allow Eagle Fire to hold academies, conduct trainings and partner with other fire districts — all in one place rather than traveling across the valley.
"Right now they're using other cities like Boise, Meridian, kind of all over, and as the whole valley is growing, it's just becoming more difficult to get in there to do that training," Ziegenfuss said.
Ziegenfuss said the city considered multiple site options and chose this location because it used land the city already owned and would have the lowest impact on the surrounding area.
"We've worked with Ada County, we've partnered with everybody that we can to make all the trail systems still usable, rerouting so that way the patrons and users of the park won't see any change," Ziegenfuss said.
He described the project as a responsible use of taxpayer dollars — a collaboration between two publicly funded entities that solved multiple problems with one solution.
"The fire district really needed this. We really needed this, and it's a solution that we can have one solution to multiple problems in one space rather than going out and causing more disruption," Ziegenfuss said.
Liz Volger lives directly across the street from the proposed facility site. She said she is not opposed to Eagle Fire — she is a remarried fire widow and fully supports the department. Her concern is the location.
"I'm concerned because this is a high pedestrian area and they're taking away seven acres of, well, some trails that are accessible to like beginners and handicapped people," Volger said.
She said the proposed trail reroutes do not address her core concern — the flat, accessible trails that would be lost are the ones that make the area usable for people who cannot navigate more difficult terrain.
"They're proposing to reroute some of these trails, but these trails are in the flat areas that we have now that will not be available anymore. So again, they're not going to be accessible to beginners, to handicapped people who might not otherwise get to go into the outdoors and see natural beauty that we have here," Volger said.
She also raised safety concerns about an industrial yard operating next to a high-traffic pedestrian area where children use the BMX park.
"This path that we're on right now, the driveway will cross right over it, and this is a major pedestrian area. It wouldn't be safe," Volger said.
She said she believes the city is holding itself to a lower standard than it would hold a private landowner.
"The city of Eagle should not be able to exempt themselves from some of those safety rules that they should actually be held to a higher standard. They wouldn't allow the general public if somebody else owned this land because this is public land," Volger said.
She said the land is not a vacant lot; it is a living part of the neighborhood.
"It's trails. It's not just a vacant lot, and that's how they see it as a vacant lot that they can use, but to us it's part of our neighborhood," Volger said.
Eagle's planning and zoning commission will review the conditional use permit request on Monday, August 3, at 6 p.m. at Eagle City Hall.
