The
Station
will have
a community room,
meeting room,
emergency operating
center, a sheriff’s
department substation
and will be
a location
for first aid. |
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Community
debates pricing of town's first fire station
Carefree approves hot fire plans
by Jason Stone
CAREFREE - The hot topic of fire protection showed no signs
of cooling off March 7 as Carefree Town Council gave final
approval for the first town owned fire station, despite opposition
from a group of residents in attendance.
In a meeting filled with insults and personal attacks, Carefree
Vice Mayor Wayne Fulcher and Councilman Bob Coady even got
into the fray, accusing each other of using incorrect cost
figures to sway public opinion on the issue. |
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But
in the end, council voted 6 1, with Coady dissenting, to start construction
on the 9,000 square foot facility at the northeast corner of Tom
Darlington Drive and Lucky Lane. The building could be operational
in the summer of 2007.
The cost of the facility was the main point of contention as Coady
estimated it could soar as high as $4 million. But Fulcher and Councilman
Greg Gardner, members of the town's Fire Protection Committee that
made the firehouse recommendation, disputed Coady's figure. Fulcher
and Gardner said it would be closer to $3 million when all is said
and done.
"But we're in a dynamic market and we have to watch these things
closely," Fulcher warned.
The council also approved the purchase of a fire truck for $500,000.
The town will now have to find a place to house the truck until
the new facility is completed.
While some opposed the firehouse on cost, others said they were
against it because they favored only having the town enter in a
master contract with Rural/Metro Fire Department. In early 2005,
Carefree approved a 1 percent sales tax hike to help foot the bill
for a $1.6 million contract with Rural/Metro.
Residents currently subscribe to fire coverage with Rural/Metro
on an individual basis. But because the town said it would take
over paying the fire protection fees in the future, many subscribers
have let their accounts lapse, leaving them without fire coverage
until the town picks up the tab.
Mayor Ed Morgan told those present March 7 that a master contract
has not been finalized but that it is "being worked on."
That was not good enough for resident Jerry Wetta, however, who
complained that the town doesn't need a fire station because the
need is not great and that the focus should be on the master contract
with Rural/Metro.
"We had a 1 percent tax increase for a contract and still no
contract," Wetta said. "That's wrong."
Gardner reminded Wetta and others who raised the issue that the
tax increase was to "help" pay for the fire contract,
not fund it completely. The councilman said general funds will be
used to make up the difference once the contract is in place.
Prior to the council meeting, Carefree held an open house along
with LEA Architects for public viewing of the fire station plans.
"It's very cozy," architect Larry Enyart said about the
parcel for the station, which is a little less than a half acre.
"But it's very workable and user friendly."
The station will have a community room, meeting room, emergency
operating center, a sheriff's department substation and will be
a location for first aid.
Enyart also said the town will likely have to install a traffic
light at the Tom Darlington/ Lucky Lane intersection in the future.
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