RINGGOLD, Ga. - The Catoosa County Commission will start putting out bids to rebuild one of its fire stations.
Located in the Graysville community at 1705 U.S. 41, Fire Station 3 was originally built as a mechanical shop about 40 years ago. Today, it hosts three full-time workers at any point throughout the day. They sleep in a small, modular building next door.
The remodeling plan would include two bedrooms: one with seven beds for men and a second with two beds for women. There will also be two bathrooms, a locker room, a renovated kitchen, a dining room, a living room and an exercise room.
"We need our stations to be equivalent to home life," Fire Chief Randy Camp said.
During a work session Tuesday, the commission looked at options for what specifically to renovate. Camp said the total estimated cost sits at around $750,000 - though the county employees are still early in the process of planning the rebuild.
The remodeled area will be on the east side of the building. Right now, this area houses storage equipment and an old school bus, which the fire department once hoped to convert into a command station. But Camp said the bus is too outdated, and he wants the county to try to sell it. He would also move the storage supplies to an area at the top of the building.
Last year, the county commissioners considered constructing a new station instead of renovating this one. But County Manager Jim Walker's request for proposals netted a $1.8 million estimate for the project.
"We had a bit of sticker shock," he said.
The county has about $1.2 million in sales tax revenue dating back to 2009 that the commission set aside for fire station buildings and renovations.
During Tuesday's meeting, the commission settled on a couple concepts for the outside of the building. They want to strip out the metal paneling, replace the insulation and put up new paneling on the outside. The cost of that decision was tough to nail down Tuesday.
They originally estimated that part of the project would cost about $45,000. But Commission Chairman Steve Henry said the county should not add new insulation throughout the building, focusing instead on the places where people are sleeping. This could drive the cost down to about $30,000.
"I don't mean to sound cheap," Henry said. "It's just, that's a lot of money."
The commissioners also decided to fix leaks on the roof with a Thermoplastic Polyolefin roofing membrane. To install a roof like this, you first place several foam boards across the top of your building, which function like insulation. Then, you fasten two layers of sheets on top of the board. Then, using some sort of adhesive or other tool, you attach the rubber-like membrane on top.
This solution is expected to cost $30,000. A new roof would cost $80,000.
"TPOs are a pretty neat product," said Henry. "And proven: A lot of builders use them."
Walker said they are hoping to build a new firehouse somewhere else in the county, hoping they will have about $2.2 million in sales tax revenue for such a project by 2019.
Contact Staff Writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.