Soddy-Daisy has yet to begin construction on Fire Hall No. 3 on the south end of the city, and several donors to the project expressed concern at the lack of action at the City Commission's March 2 meeting.
Arnold Stulce, chairman of the Red Bank and Soddy-Daisy Charitable Foundation, recently presented a donation of $23,153 to the city on the conditions that it be used solely for funding of the fire hall project, and that the funds be kept separate in an interest-bearing account.
"I'm concerned with the lack of action over funding and rebuilding of the fire hall," Stulce told officials.
Part of his concern, he said, is that the majority of the city's businesses are located on the south end, and the lack of a fire hall in that area puts those businesses at risk.
City Manager Janice Cagle said the city had $246,000 in the fire hall fund prior to Stulce's donation. All the money in the fund came from donations: $196,000 from the foundation and $50,000 from former Hamilton County Commissioner Fred Skillern, she said.
Skillern also expressed concern at the March 2 meeting that the fire hall project had not yet begun. Commissioner Geno Shipley told Skillern that the city used his donation to pay for architects, engineering and design for the project.
Skillern said the money would have been better spent on "brick and mortar," adding that due to increasing construction costs, the money won't go as far the longer officials wait.
When Skillern made his donation in 2014, the city was hoping to receive a $315,000 grant it had applied for but did not receive, said Cagle.
She said the estimate for the original plan for the fire hall put the project at about $2 million, and the city now plans to reduce the size and scope of the project to bring the cost down to between $1 million and $1.5 million.
The commission plans to discuss the project at upcoming budget workshops, and the Fire Department hopes for construction to begin in spring or early summer of next year, Cagle said.
The new fire hall will be manned by volunteers, as the city doesn't have the funds to staff the station, she added.
Prior to hiring its first paid firefighters in 2013, the city depended solely on volunteers for fire service. Soddy-Daisy currently employs nine firefighters.