Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
This photo was taken to commemorate the demolition of what will soon be the KVFD parking lot. From left, Susan Haack and Dave Haack of Z&S Construction with KVFD's Bob Nagel, Z&S's Flo Robbins and KVFD's Rick Wynne. Not pictured, Chris Haack.
The Wayne Robbins family and subsequently Z&S Construction have been generous donators and supporters of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department for generations. Three to be exact.
Wayne Robbins became an honorary fireman in the early 1980s and enjoyed gifting new American flags to the department along with other donations. Now his wife Flo, daughter Susan and son-in-law Dave Haack and family have continued with the tradition of supporting the fire department. Among the family's unselfish donations of the past included a donation towards remodeling the firehall's kitchen.
Their most recent joint venture began last year when the City of Kimball acquired the property immediately south of the firehall on Webster Street with the intention of having the house demolished and donating the land to the department for use as a parking lot.
The fire department has been in need of additional parking for years. As it is, when a call comes in, the volunteers have to park their vehicles along both Webster and 2nd Streets as well as utilizing post office parking lot. The new parking lot will not only alleviate any daytime congestion that might occur during a fire, but it will be much safer for the firemen themselves as they will no longer need to run across the street after parking their vehicles. A new door will be added to the southeast corner of the firehall as well to increase safety and speed for the fireman.
Z&S Construction was in charge of and completed all of the demolition and clean up of the building by mid-January. According to Dave Haack, a 320 Caterpillar Excavator with a 'thumb' was used to not only demolish, but pick up and remove, the entire house in just about 48 hours. Even the basement was entirely removed successfully without incident. Approximately fifteen loads of debris was hauled to the landfill for disposal by Z&S. Then the hole was filled and leveled off with a dozer.
Approximately $6,000 worth of labor, equipment and hauling of construction debris was donated, saving both the department and the city the cost.
Soon, the lot will be leveled and with the assistance of the City of Kimball, a new concrete approach will replace the current sidewalk and curb. It is believed that recycled asphalt material will be used to pave the parking lot, with hopes of completion this spring.
Although the fire department is incredibly grateful for the decades of generous donations from the Robbins family and Z&S Construction, they want to acknowledge that all donations, no matter how small, are greatly appreciated. Kimball residents have been unselfish with their contributions towards the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department and the volunteers are humbly grateful of the kindness, support and donated funds over the years.
