EAGLE, Idaho — Eagle city leaders on Tuesday tabled a proposal to build a new fire training facility with maintenance buildings and office space near Eagle Bike Park after hearing dozens of neighbor's testimony, much of it in opposition to the location.
The Eagle City Council heard from nearly two dozen neighbors during a meeting that lasted almost five hours. No decision was made on the proposal.
WATCH: Hear from neighbors and city leaders about the proposal
Several residents said they support the idea of a fire training facility, but not at the proposed site near Horseshoe Bend Road and Floating Feather Road.
“Great facility, wrong location,” one neighbor said.
“Our concern is just simply where this facility is located,” another resident said.
“I do not support this facility at this location,” a third speaker said.
“Please have no doubt that I fully support this fire training center, but I do not want it to be built at Eagle Bike Park,” another neighbor told council members.
Eagle Mayor Brad Pike said the city is extremely limited based on the land that they already own.
“If we had land somewhere else, we would put it there,” Pike said.
Mayor Pike explained that they have explored other possible locations across Eagle, but the options for suitable sites is slim.
“We’ve looked all over the city. We don’t have an industrial zone, we don’t have an industrial park. We don’t even have a business park,” Pike said.
City leaders say the proposed project would address long-term training and space needs for both the city and the Eagle Fire District. Plans call for a joint maintenance facility and a training facility on more than seven acres near the intersection of Horseshoe Bend and Floating Feather roads.
Some neighbors raised concerns about how the facility could change the neighborhood.
“No one can stand on that parcel under an Idaho bluebird sky and watch the flash of bicycle helmets and honestly say that this facility won’t change the character of this neighborhood,” one resident said.
Others focused on possible health concerns related to smoke from live fire training exercises.
“The residents will be exposed to the smoke, it doesn’t matter how much or how little — they’ll be exposed to it,” one neighbor said.
“My concerns are for the health and safety impacts of living near a burn tower of any size or capacity,” another resident said.
At least one neighbor indicated support for the proposal on the meeting sign-in sheet.
City leaders responded to many of the public's concerns while emphasizing the need for the facility.
“I think we need to do something, if the property isn’t there for us anywhere else but here, then it needs to go here and we’re gonna need to mitigate whatever we can mitigate to make sure that it’s the best it can be,” Council Member Robert Gillis said.
The proposal is slated to return to the Eagle City Council at its Oct. 20 meeting.
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