The town of Signal Mountain needs a second fire station.
That’s what a recently completed study by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service reports.
According to the plan of services for the annexed subdivisions of Fox Run and Windtree, the town agreed to conduct the study within 12 months of the annexation, which went into effect Dec. 31, 2012. At the Town Council’s April work session, Town Manager Boyd Veal said he had received a draft of the Fire Station Feasibility Study compiled by MTAS.
Though the town only recently received the report, the study was conducted prior to the end of 2013, Veal said in a follow-up interview. Compiling the information into the report extended beyond 2013, he explained.
“The definitive recommendation for the second station is pretty strong,” Veal told council members during the meeting. “Bottom line is it said exactly what we’ve been thinking, which is, ‘You need to do it and you need to do it now.'”
Funds to build the possibly $1 million station, which will be located on a town-owned lot on Shackleford Ridge Road, might come from the $3 million loan town officials plan to apply for with the Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund, though the loan has not yet been officially applied for. (Read previous coverage at community.timesfreepress.com/news/2014/mar/12/signal-likely-borrow-3-million.)
The town has $400,000-plus in funds earmarked for the fire station. The funds have been set aside for the project for years – accumulating interest in a bank account – and in 2010, the account was up to $428,000, reported then-Town Manager Honna Rogers.
“[MTAS] even went so far as to discuss the possible need for a third station down the road due to our urban growth boundaries … just to give you an illustration of where they think we are [in regards to current growth],” Veal told the council. “We need another station. It’s that simple.”
However, Veal doesn’t think a third fire station will ever be likely, due to recently passed legislation that makes annexations, and therefore growth, impossible without a referendum.
“The potential for growth has diminished as a result of that legislation,” he said in a follow-up interview.
If the need for a third fire station does eventually arise, Veal said there is no plan in place as to where it would be located. The town does not own any land set aside for a third station, he said.
Fire Chief Eric Mitchell said he envisions the new firehall to have two bays as well as energy-efficient features such as skylights.
“I want something that fits the community, especially the front part of the station that will face Shackleford Ridge,” Mitchell said when asked by the council what his vision is for the new station. “I think it should reflect the community. … As natural as we can make it.”
Veal said no timeline has been mapped out for the construction of the station but that it would start “as soon as possible.” The design plans, cost and more are still subject to council approval.