SPRINGVILLE -- If Mayor Hal Wing has his way, the block on Main Street where the police and fire station sit will be razed and a shopping establishment will be built in its place.
An unidentified business may buy the property, located on the east side of Main Street between Center Street and 100 South, from the city, Wing says.The proposed sale would allow Springville to construct a new city hall for administrative and emergency services directly across the street where administrative offices and the city library are now housed.
It's part of the mayor's forward-thinking attempt to spruce up the area and make it an attractive destination for shoppers and other visitors.
"We want to rejuvenate downtown," Wing said. "We can't do that without bringing in some businesses. We want to retain the charm there along Main Street and remove the blight. We're trying to look at bringing something into the heart of the city to strengthen it.
"I think the price we could get out of the property would enable us to build a nice three-story building on the block across the street," he continued. "We'd be able to do it without taxing the citizens of Springville."
Wing adds that he has another salient reason for wanting to sell that parcel. The current police/fire department building, which was built in the 1950s, is not earthquake-safe.
"One tremor across this valley could flatten it like a pancake," he said. "If a catastrophe were to happen, we'd be in trouble. It would be horrific. We need our dispatch people and our police and fire personnel. One tremor and we'd lose our emergency services."
Wing emphasizes that discussions with the business, which he only described as "a large firm that wants good visibility," are ongoing and that nothing has been decided.
He declined to disclose the name of the business or how long negotiations have been taking place.
"I don't know if (the sale) is going to happen," Wing said. "It's being kicked around. If this doesn't work out, we'll look at other alternatives."
Wing is also eyeing the consolidation of other city departments at one location in order to "keep better track of what the city has."
Growth in the city has Wing concerned, and he wants to prepare for the future.
"We're a substantial city of 22,000 people," he explained. "In 10 years, we're going to have 40-50,000 people. We need to do some serious planning."