Wednesday, November 29, 2000
|
Wednesday, November 29, 2000 |
| Fire station contract
on commission agenda
By DAVE
HAMRICK Construction of four new Fayette County fire stations may begin soon. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services will present its request for a contract with Holley Construction Company for the stations when the County Commission meets at 3:30 p.m. next Wednesday at the County Administrative Complex. Holley submitted the low bid among contractors responding to the county's request for bids, at $2.6 million. All four stations will be replacement facilities for current stations that are too small, according to Jack Krakeel, director of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. When many of the department's stations were built 25 or 30 years ago, Krakeel said, Fayette's firefighters were all volunteers. "They were totally volunteer stations and living quarters weren't a consideration," he said. But now, with paid firefighters manning the stations on 24-hour shifts, the cramped quarters have become a problem, Krakeel said. Also, Station 1 on Ga. Highway 314 North is nestled into the foot of a dam, an unsafe situation that needs to be remedied as soon as possible, Krakeel said. Plans are to build all the stations at one time, saving money by using a single contractor. It will take about 20 years to pay off the debt for the projects, Krakeel said, but he added that the county's fire district tax is sufficient to make the payments without any tax rate increase. In addition to Station 1, facilities slated for replacement are: Station 4 in Fayetteville, next to the county's court complex on Johnson Avenue. The county already owns property on Seay Road for a new station, outside the city limits of Fayetteville. Station 5, on Ga. Highway 85 near Bernhard Road. There's enough room at the current location for a new building, Krakeel said. Station 7 in Woolsey. Plans are to build the new Woolsey station on the grounds of the county's new South Fayette Water Treatment facility, under construction on Antioch Road. Station 1 will be an entirely new location, near the current facility on Hwy. 314, Krakeel said. In other matters next Wednesday, commissioners will discuss: Bids for a two-million-gallon water tank on Ellis Road. The county Water Committee is recommending that bids be solicited and that a federally backed, low-interest loan be sought for the project. A presentation by Forrest Hill, director of the Two Rivers Resource, Conservation and Development Council, on green space plans. A request for proposals for cellular services for county personnel. Consideration of fees paid to the probate judge. Approval of a traffic light for the intersection of McElroy Road and Ga. Highway 54. Discussion of the county's intergovernmental agreement with local cities concerning housing of municipal court prisoners at the county jail. (See related story)
|
||