Following extensive conversations with both Catoosa County public officials and private citizens, personal care home Country Haven will be able to keep its doors open if serious fire code issues are addressed by Nov. 15.
Owner Jonathan Stokil said he has already spoken to contractors who are aware of the impending deadline to make sure the issues are resolved in time.
In September, Stokil was given a 30-day notice by the county to close down after a fire inspection by the building department found numerous hazards and code violations that officials said were severe enough to warrant a closure.
However, after lengthy discussion with building inspector Rick Quarles, Catoosa County Manager Jim Walker and other county officials, the parties reached an agreement in which Stokil was given time to rectify the immediately fixable issues with the property. The county also stipulated headway must be made on some of the more complex violations within a year.
While the interior fixes should be straightforward, the issues outside the building could prove a challenge. By Stokil’s initial estimates, laying a 6-inch water line from nearby Friendship Road for a fire hydrant, expanding the parking lot and widening the road leading up to Country Haven to allow for fire trucks could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.