Thursday, July 9, 2009

Lawrenceburg Applies For Fire Station Construction Grant

   Working toward a plan adopted several years ago in order to ensure the greatest possible safety for local citizens, Lawrenceburg Fire Chief Don Kelly obtained permission Thursday to apply for grant funds that could allow for the construction of a third fire station inside the city, at minimal cost to local taxpayers.

   Kelly brought the matter before the Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Council during a business meeting Thursday morning. He sought the go-ahead to apply for an Assistance to Firefighters Fire Station Construction Grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The non-matching grant, he explained, would cover the entire cost of constructing a third fire station. The only cost to the city, he said, would be the cost of paving and landscaping after construction was completed.

   Kelly told council members that the move is in line with plans made in the wake of a 2001 study. That study showed that a fire station was needed in the western portion of the city in order to curb response times and ensure the greatest safety for local residents. Constructing a third fire station, the study indicated, would likely allow the city’s fire rating to be decreased further, resulting in lower fire insurance costs for residents.

   In conjunction with the findings of the study, officials made the decision at that time to relocate Fire Station Number 2 from the former site on North Locust Avenue to the current location on Springer Road. A third station, they said, should be constructed at the former site of David Crockett Elementary School on West Point Road. Three acres of the property were then obtained from the Lawrence County Board of Education. Since that time, Kelly said, he had believed construction of the additional station was prohibited due to budget constraints.

   Kelly stated that while speaking with a representative of the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) Wednesday, he discovered that the project had great potential to gain approval. The deadline for making application to the grant program fell on Thursday. Members of the council voted unanimously to allow Kelly to apply for the funding.

   Should the project be selected for approval under the grant program, Kelly said the city would have one year from the approval date to begin the construction and three years until it would have to be completed. He indicated that additional grant funds will soon be available, as well, that might assist the city with the cost of staffing a new station.

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