Buffalo Grove aiming to use fire training site for truck enforcement
Buffalo Grove is planning a combination weigh station and water-filling terminal for trucks at a site currently used to train firefighters.
The 4.5-acre site at Deerfield Parkway and Krause Drive is home to the 3,070-square-foot Combined Area Fire Training facility. It is used jointly by the Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods, Long Grove and Deerfield-Bannockburn firefighting agencies.
The planning and zoning commission recently recommended the changes as well as other site improvements. The village board will vote on July 15.
The budgeted cost of the project is just over $1.1 million, village officials said.
Buffalo Grove Deputy Public Works Director and Village Engineer Kyle Johnson said using the site offers several advantages.
“It’s matching of a lot of different needs coming together on one specific site,” he said. “It accomplishes a lot of village goals.”
Johnson said contractors needing water for sewer flushing and road maintenance could use the filling station. Trucks carrying water to public pools could also use it.
Officials said village water sales over the past five years have amounted to approximately 810,650 gallons per year. The village sells water to residents, and plans are in the works to provide water to the nearby unincorporated Pekara neighborhood in Lake County.
Currently, water trucks use a metered hydrant at the village’s public works facility.
Johnson said Buffalo Grove police and neighboring law enforcement could use the weigh station for truck enforcement.
At present, police use a portable scale. The 40-pound scales are frequently moved during the weighing process, posing a risk to officers. With the new weigh station, officers could take the trucks to the scales, saving time.
Buffalo Grove police have issued an average of 98 tickets for overweight vehicles over the past five years, with 203 tickets last year, according to the police department.
From 2018-2020, the average amount ticketed was $197,055.
Officials said having a fixed scale could increase that amount by 30-50 tickets annually.
Other improvements on the site will include additional parking spaces for fire training participants.