Saving money is a good thing. Saving taxpayers' money is a very good thing.

The administration offices for Nevada County Consolidated Fire District moved April 24 from a $16,000-a-year rental office in Glenbrook Basin to the newly refurbished Watt Park station at 11329 McCourtney Road, across from the county fairgrounds.

The remodeling cost $49,000 and could be recouped in less than four years, said Tim Fike, Consolidated's chief.

The move was facilitated when Consolidated and the Grass Valley City Fire Department combined their fire prevention offices into one bureau in Grass Valley's City Hall last year.

Once fire prevention moved, the remaining administrative staff could fit into the station on McCourtney, Fike said.

The Watt Park station was turned into a fire station in the late 1950s. Before that, it was a metal shop for the North Star Mine.

The station had three fire-engine bays, a meeting room, a kitchen and a bedroom. The refurbished station converted the bays to four 12-by-12-foot offices. The heat and air conditioning have been upgraded and made more energy-efficient, Fike said.

There are also two fire-engine bays in an unattached building on the site.

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