Preliminary steps toward creating a small park along Central Avenue will be taken by the Fort Dodge City Council this evening.

The council will also consider implementing a fee to be charged when the Fire Department is called to lift someone up who is otherwise uninjured.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. today in the Municipal Building, 819 First Ave. S.

On the north side of the 700 block of Central Avenue there is a grassy area where The Hayloft once stood. The Hayloft building was to be renovated as part of a larger downtown facade improvement project. But when architects examined the building, they found massive structural problems that made it unsafe. The building was subsequently demolished.

During tonight’s meeting, the council is expected to apply for a state grant to pay for developing a park at that site. The council is also expected to commit about $38,000 in local matching funds for the grant, if it is awarded.

The council will also consider hiring a firm to design the park.

For many years, the Fire Department has responded to help pick up people who have fallen but are not ill or injured. It will continue to do that, but under a proposal before the council a fee would be charged for the service in some instances.

Under the proposal, a nursing home, assisted living facility or medical facility would be charged $500 if the Fire Department is called there to help lift somebody. That $500 fee will also apply if an ambulance is called to a facility to transport someone for a non-emergency reason.

If the Fire Department is called to a private residence or independent living facility that doesn’t have staff on site, there would be a $150 fee for the third and subsequent lift assist calls within a 12-month period.