At the regular monthly meeting Monday evening, Turkey Creek Township Advisory Board voted to have one set of blueprints drawn for the future addition to Syracuse Fire Station 1 on SR 13.

The approved second story addition to the fire station will allow for approximately 4,400 sqaure feet of additional space for dormitories, meeting room, storage space, etc. A second-story addition, costing up to $450,000, was approved in late 2012.

Instead of including the design of architectural plans in the bidding process, the board voted to have one set of blueprints drawn for the bidding process.

“The design and build option is cheaper up front, but it’s more cumbersome because everyone can submit their own plans and there are hearings that have to take place,” said Dennis Darr, president of the board. “We basically know what we want. If we do one drawing, then we can compare construction costs ‘apples to apples.’”

The board also approved on paying DJ Construction a total of $4,000 for their services in the fire station renovation project up to this point. This amount will come out of the professional administration services line item of the fire territory budget.

In his report, fire chief Mickey Scott reported the department responded to six fire calls and 56 EMS calls in the month of February. This total is a decrease of 40 percent from January’s total responses.

Scott also reported he has not received any estimates for either the remount of the box on a new chassis, or a replacement, for Fire Truck 1. A committee is still working to secure estimates.

A PERF 77 retirement plan for employees is still in the process of being established. Scott is gathering information and who will be eligible and the requirements for both the board and department.

The Turkey Creek Fire Territory is currently accepting applications for employment, said Scott. Minimum requirements for applicants are Firefighter I/II and EMT Basic certifications.

Scott also reported that with 16 percent of the year over, approximately 10 percent of the 2013 budget has been used.

In her financial report, township trustee Barb Griffith said she had not had as many people coming into her office for assistance last month as in January. The total assistance relief expenses were $2,676.97 compared to $4,703.61 in January.

The Turkey Creek Township Advisors meet at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of the month at Syracuse Fire Station Two. The next meeting is Monday, April 8.