The Jan. 23 Fairburn City Council meeting was shorter than most but brought several important announcements and decisions.

Announcements included the introduction of the city’s new Assistant Fire Chief and the re-appointment of Board of Zoning Appeals members James Golden and Melvin Glaze for a three-year term. Fire Chief Jody Weller introduced new Assistant Chief Stephen Hood, citing his 16 years of experience and a wealth of training certifications.

“We made the obvious decision,” said Weller. “Stephen has a good reputation and is an extremely good paramedic. As you get to know him you will see hands down why we chose him.”

A veteran with Fayette County Fire Services, Hood said he would work toward Fairburn being recognized as the best department in the area, one with a national name and number one in customer service.

Council members approved the purchase of eight new police cars from Bobby Jones Ford in Augusta. The vehicles come with a fully outfitted price of $29,020 each for a total of $232,160, said Police Chief Charles Long. The purchase will help the department address the need to have a full compliment of vehicles needed for public safety, he said. The purchase is based on a three-year lease/purchase agreement. City Administrator Jim Williams said funds for the purchase had been allocated in the current budget.

Of historic importance was the board’s approval to lease the Old Campbell County Courthouse from Fulton County. In negotiations for some time, the agreement calls for Fairburn to operate and maintain the courthouse property for 50 years at a price of $10. The move essentially gives ownership of the courthouse to the city.

“This is an important building,” Williams said. “We didn’t want it to collapse. We wanted to jump in and save it.”

Council members also approved the purchase of two new cardiac monitors for city fire engines. The low bidder, Medtronic, submitted a price of $42,300 for the equipment. The purchase can be financed over three years. Funds for the purchase are already budgeted. Delivery will be coordinated with the April 1 date when the city assumes responsibility for the fire department, now run by Fulton County.

“As we have been in the development of our fire department we have found there is some equipment that we are in need of to adequately handle the potential emergencies to which we will respond,” said Weller. “One goal of our department is to maintain the highest level of EMS response from our engine companies with paramedics responding in an Advanced Life Support mode. By purchasing these two monitors, each engine company will be equipped with a monitor that paramedics can have readily available.”

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