SIDNEY — Sidney Fire Chief Brad Jones was the speaker at the July 17 meeting of the Sidney Rotary Club.

Jones spoke about the proposed Tactical Village and Public Safety Training Center that would be constructed on property currently optioned to the city along Wapakoneta Avenue near Interstate 75. The proposed facility, under discussion for some time with Edison State Community College officials and interested stakeholders from Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Logan, Mercer, Miami and Shelby counties, would be located adjacent to the property previously purchased as the proposed location of a third fire station.

Jones explained that the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (fire department) was tasked with updating the 2008 Community Risk Assessment (CRA) by council in 2014. During that process, current agency performance was evaluated against national standards and criteria. An analysis of the 2014 data indicated that, just as the 2008 CRA had indicated, a third station was necessary.

“Based on our analysis, one of the preferred locations was the intersection of Hoewisher Road and Wapakoneta Avenue,” Jones told the Rotarians. “When the former home of Dr. and Mrs. Anne Link was placed on the market, the property was secured as the location for the third fire station.”

In 2015, Dick Adams provided a memorial gift to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services through the Community Foundation in the amount of $100,000. The gift, in memory of Nancy Adams, was used to establish the Nancy Adams Training Center, updating the department’s training room within Station 1.

During the meetings that took place prior to the gift-giving, Dr. Richard Adams, Dick’s son, asked whether Edison State was involved in the department’s training. Dr. Adams, a former member of the General Assembly, had previously served as a trustee of the college. He encouraged Sidney officials to reach out to the college and solicit their involvement, Jones said.

“As it turns out, the partnership is ideal,” he added. “Edison is the region’s premier resource for higher education. They are committed to strategic initiatives and community collaboration. They are working hard to try to fill the gap in educational services to educate and train the workforce of the future. And, it comes down to location, location, location. We had been having these ongoing discussion when then State Fire Marshal Larry Flowers stopped by and spoke to the mayor, Edison officials and department officials and indicated that there was ‘a training black hole in west central Ohio and Sidney was in the center of it.’

“Now you usually don’t want to be in the center of a black hole, but in this case, it was great news,” Jones continued. “Traveling with Marshal Flowers was Ohio Emergency Medical Services Chief Executive Officer Melvin House. Both were enthusiastic about the proposed project, and offered their assistance.”

Since then, Jones has visited facilities similar to the one proposed for Sidney. They include the Cuyahoga County Community College Public Safety Institute, the Luzerne County Community College Public Safety Training Institute, the Owens Community College Center for Emergency Preparedness and the Victor Valley College Regional Public Safety Training Center.

“The good news,” Jones said, “is that there are 1,623 firefighters and 384 EMS first responders in the area, requiring 35,867 continuing education hours each year. That is just one indication that the facility would be financially viable — and that’s without a law enforcement component.”

The planning committee, which has been meeting for more than two years, established Steering, Curriculum and Facilities subcommittees some time ago.

Jones told the Rotarians that the Steering Committee includes Edison State President Dr. Doreen Larson, Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst, Edison State Center for Workforce Development Director Peggy Wiggins, Dr. Adams, and himself. The Curriculum Committee includes Edison State Dean Shirley Moore, Sidney Fire Deputy Chief Cameron Haller, Troy Fire Assistant Chief Eric Krites, Shelby County Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Cheri Drinkwine, Anna Fire Chief Matt Harvey and Perry-Port-Salem Rescue Chief Yvonne Brown. The Facilities Committee includes Wapakoneta Fire Chief Kendall Krites, Greenville Fire Chief Mark Wolf, Ansonia Fire Chief Rick Lee, Celina Fire Chief Doug Walters, Anna Fire Chief Tim Bender and Fort Loramie Fire Chief Brad Schulze.

“Ansonia Chief Lee, Wapakoneta Chief Krites and Greenville Chief Wolf have now all retired, but have expressed interest in remaining involved with this project. They see this as a real asset to their respective departments and to the entire region,” Jones said.

Jones provided examples of buildings that might be constructed on the site. He also noted that the Edison facility would potentially include classroom space that could be used for general coursework.

Rotarians were enthusiastic about the opportunity that the regional center/branch campus would bring to the community.

“This is exciting,” Rotary President Duane Gaier said as he closed the meeting.