Thursday, March 28, 2013
Commission Votes To Deed Proposed Fire Station Property To City
Members of the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to deed property proposed for the construction of a new fire station, to the City of Lawrenceburg.
The board had agreed in August of 2001 to allow the city to obtain up to three acres of the property on West Point Road, at the site of the old David Crockett Elementary School, for the construction of a third city fire station.
The construction would, officials said, provide greater protection for residents and result in decreased costs for fire insurance coverage. Thus far, however, the planned construction has not come to fruition.
A section of the original resolution that promised the land specified that, “No conveyance shall be made by County Executive until the City has taken the necessary steps to fully fund the construction of such new fire hall.”
Lawrenceburg Fire Chief Jay Moore was in attendance Thursday. He told board members that the ailing economy during past years and construction of the U.S. Highway 64 Bypass have been a deterrent to construction.
In addition, he explained that the city has applied to government grant programs in the hopes of securing grant monies for the construction. One factor that has gone against them, he said, is the fact that the proposed construction site is not deeded to the city.
Members of the board voted to amend the original resolution, deleting that particular section. Added, instead, was a section allowing the County Executive to execute a deed, transferring ownership of the property to the City of Lawrenceburg.
The proposal was amended to stipulate that, should the construction not be completed in eight years, ownership of the land will revert to the county.
