There are three sites, each with "merits and drawbacks," Lancaster Township's manager said.

So it might seem likely that "when you get this many people (together), you're not going to get everyone to agree," as one of the 100-plus Lancaster Township residents on hand Wednesday put it.

But there did seem to be plenty of support for one of the sites being considered as the new home for the township fire department.

And the three township supervisors agreed that the site, in Lancaster Community Park next to Millersville Pike, had the most merit.

The supervisors ended a special public meeting at Maple Grove Community Building on Wednesday night by giving township manager Bill Laudien the go-ahead to "actively pursue" the park site as a possible new fire headquarters.

The process of actually building the new station has a long way to go, but Wednesday's vote was a step toward consolidating operations of the township fire department, which are now in two separate, aging facilities in Bausman and Hamilton Park.

The park site is the newer of two proposals for the green expanse of open space across Millersville Pike from Manor Shopping Center.

The first proposal, for behind the Planet Fitness workout facility (the newer recommendation is next to it), drew the ire of nearby residents, particularly along Atkins Avenue, for what they felt would be its impact on the park and on local traffic and safety.

The other proposed site is to the north, in a big parking area near the Clock Towers building and Valentino's restaurant, near Columbia and Elm avenues.

The site the supervisors agreed to pursue Wednesday had only recently become available.

School District of Lancaster, which owns the park and leases it to the township, suggested moving the fire station site from behind Planet Fitness to alongside the workout facility, closer to Route 999.

At the first site, there are baseball and soccer fields in use, and building a new fire station would have taken those fields.

But the newer site is not expected to remove any athletic fields, said Laudien, who now will discuss the possible fire site in earnest with the school district.

"OK, William, you have lots of work to do," supervisor Chairman Tom Schaller said to Laudien with a smile at the meeting's end.

Earlier, opinion was mixed among the residents who spoke during the 90-minute meeting.

While a slight majority seemed to find the new park site reasonable, there also was some sentiment in favor of the parking lot near Clock Towers.

A few even wondered if one of the existing fire stations could be expanded or refurbished, which township officials emphasized is not a good option.

"It's just too bad we couldn't build onto what we already have" at the current stations, said Kelly McIntyre of Davis Drive.

The community park site, "snugged up as close as possible (to Millersville Pike), has a lot of merit," said Robert Field of 1200 Marietta Ave., manager of Manor House Apartments.

With all the worries about safety involving fire vehicles, Jim Humphreville of South President Avenue pointed out that fire trucks have been going down Maple Avenue, near the Hamilton Park fire station, for half a century.

"If we can do that for 50 years without any kind of risk and any kind of danger," there's not a good reason to be concerned that safety steps won't be followed now, he said.

A fence would be built between the park and an access drive leading from the proposed fire station, and that reassured one resident Wednesday.

"That makes me feel better about the safety of the kids in the park," she said. "But I'm still concerned about the safety in the neighborhood, especially along Atkins, which is a thoroughfare already."

doconnor@lnpnews.com