The Georgia Forestry Commission is looking to purchase 4 acres of land in Catoosa County to build a replacement for its station in Whitfield County.
If the sale is approved by Catoosa commissioners and state entities, the move will enable rangers to respond faster to wildfires in Catoosa, forestry officials say.
Authorities from the Whitfield County Forestry Office have been searching for a new location for a little more than a year. Built in the early 1980s, the current facility, which serves both Whitfield and Catoosa, has begun to fall victim to insect and water damage, said Seth Pierce, chief ranger for the district.
This would be the first time a forestry station had operated in Catoosa since its office consolidated with Whitfield's in 2009 due to budget shortfalls.
Located on Bandy Road, the proposed new site straddles the Catoosa-Whitfield line, which Pierce said would allow rangers to serve both counties more equally.
Right now, with the current office located on the far east side of Whitfield County, it may take rangers up to an hour to respond to a wildland fire in some parts of Catoosa, Pierce explained.
"And that's not including the time it takes them to get from their house to the office, get their stuff together and that type of thing," he added. "A lot of times, you could be looking at a two-hour response time for some places in Catoosa County."
Rangers within the district are hoping the move will shave at least 30 minutes from that response time, though the relocation will also inevitably mean longer response times for some areas in Whitfield, Pierce noted.
"In the big picture, which is what we have to look at, we feel like that will put us more centrally located to serve both counties as best we can," Pierce said.
Catoosa County commissioners voted last week to authorize the sale of up to 4 acres, but the county will still need to establish a price and enter into a contract with the state before forestry officials can actually close on the property, said County Attorney Chad Young.
"This would just authorize the staff to move forward with the process," Young told commissioners during their June 19 meeting.
Authorization will also need to be given by the Georgia Forestry Commission's board and the State Properties Commission in Atlanta before the sale can be finalized, Pierce added. He estimated that the entire process would take a minimum of six months, with another year and half following approval anticipated for construction.
"It's a lengthy process any time the state tries to buy property, so this is the initial phase," Pierce said. "[There's] a lot of red tape and a lot of back and forth, but hopefully we'll get there."
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com